Tough contest for 55 dairy industry scholarships

Monday 15 February 2016

Tough contest for 55 dairy industry scholarships

Fifty-five DairyNZ scholarships have been awarded this year to Lincoln, Massey and Waikato university students as part of a wider drive to attract more motivated young talent into the dairy industry.

DairyNZ has awarded the annual scholarships to successful students undertaking degrees in agriculture or related fields, with a particular interest in the dairy industry.

DairyNZ industry education facilitator Susan Stokes says the quality of applications this year was particularly high and bodes well for future talent coming into the dairy industry.

"This support for outstanding young scholars is part of the industry's drive to encourage talented, motivated people into the industry as future research scientists, farm advisors, farm managers, farm owners and rural professionals," says Susan.

Thirty-one students at Lincoln University, 22 at Massey University and two at the University of Waikato will receive a DairyNZ scholarship, funded by the levy invested by DairyNZ on behalf of dairy farmers.

"We received applications from 168 students from 135 schools and the high standard made our selection process challenging - a good problem to have, but it does mean some very good students missed out this time round," says Susan.

The scholarship assists with the costs of university study (up to $6325 per year) and continues until course completion, as long as grades are acceptable. Scholars are mentored and supported through their university years, often continuing into employment on-farm or in a role supporting the dairy industry.

In the last three years, 80 scholarship recipients have graduated from the scholarship programme. Twenty four percent of these graduates are employed on farm, 40 percent are employed as rural professionals and 13 percent are employed in science.

The closing date for 2017 scholarship applications is December 7, 2016. Information on DairyNZ scholarships, the application process and criteria to qualify can be found at www.dairynz.co.nz/scholarships.

-ENDS-

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