Our best young agricultural engineers are in good hands, thanks to millions of pounds of investment in state-of-the-art facilities at our universities providing agricultural engineering tuition.

Harper Adams University is one of the leading institutions producing students with qualifications from degree level and above.

The Agricultural Engineering Innovation Centre is one of the landmark buildings at the university's campus in rural Shropshire.

While conventional tractor and machine engineering principles such as transmission and hydraulic systems are well covered there, the future is in robotics and autonomous vehicles.

On a recent visit there, I was shown around by Parmjit Chima, Head of the Engineering Department, who is soon to lead the university’s new degree programmes in Applied Data Science, Robotics, Automation and Mechatronic Engineering and Digital Business Management, based at The Quad in Telford.

At the Innovation Centre, Mr. Chima said the focus, going forward, is autonomous robots on the ground and in the air.

The support systems include the use of AI as well as GPS, data communication and satellite communication.

Already having established the ‘Hands-Free Hectare’, where they pioneered the growing of one hectare of crops by autonomous machines, this was scaled up to a 35-hectare plot using multiple autonomous vehicles in the field.

Now the next project is strip cropping, or inter cropping, where strips of crops are grown side by side with the machines adapting to different harvesting needs.

The centre has produced a series of drones used for spraying chemicals on crops and the university was awarded the first licences to spray with chemicals from drones.

The centre is inspiring for students who want to develop their knowledge of the future of engineering.

The Quad will receive the first students in September this year.

Professor Ken Sloan, Vice-Chancellor of Harper Adams University, said: "As a forward-thinking institution, Harper Adams University is thrilled to be part of The Quad.

“Our degree programmes in Applied Data Science, Robotics, Automation & Mechatronic Engineering, and Digital Business Management – which will align closely with industry needs – ensure graduates are well-prepared for the digital landscape."

Harper Adams University covers a wide range of degree subjects in the engineering department, including Agricultural Engineering, Applied Data Science, Automatic Engineering, Digital Manufacturing, Engineering Business Management, Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, Automation and Mechatronic Engineering.