Osnabrück - Harper Adams

In the cooperation between Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and Harper Adams University in England, students deal with the topic of autonomy. The renowned lighthouse project Hands Free Hectare (www.handsfreehectare.com) in Edgmond offers ideal conditions for a wide range of issues. International student exchange is also a priority here.

Please find the latest experience of our current exchange student below:

'Within the CLAAS Foundation’s University Twinning Program between Harper Adams University and the University of Applied Science Osnabrück I got the chance to study two master degrees at the same time: a two-year master course in M.Sc. „Applied Crop Science“ at the University of applied science Osnabrück and a one-year master in M.Res. „Precision Farming“ at the Harper Adams University which is integrated in my master studies in Osnabrück. My research project, which is the main part of my studies at Harper Adams University, deals with autonomous crop farming in Germany. Even though the number of autonomous equipment for crop farming increases fast, only a bit is known about the economic feasibility and possibilities of the adoption into the current production processes. Therefore, I evaluate and compare different approaches of autonomous equipment with the current conventional technologies from an economic point of view. Prof. Dr. James Lowenberg-DeBoer in the UK and Prof. Dr. Hubert Korte in Germany supervise my project – so I have supervisors from both universities, which are in each case specialist for agricultural economics and agriculture technologies. Furthermore, I am in a close contact with the HandsFreeFarm-project that farms 35 ha with autonomous equipment. Besides my study work, I take part in the usual student life such as the engineering society, the HAU football club or the student union events. This project is a great experience for me and I learn a great deal about autonomy and about international scientific work. Thank you to all involved parties, which made this programme possible.'