YOUNG sheep and wool producers in the final two years of an ag-related undergraduate degree are encouraged to apply for the 2021 AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship Program.

The AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship is a collaboration between research and development corporations to provide eligible university students with a $10,000 bursary over two years and opportunities to develop leadership skills and expand their networks.

As part of the program, students also attend an annual four-day professional development workshop and complete two weeks of industry work placements. Applications are open for the program until 15 January.

The Horizon Scholarship Program is open to students studying agriculture-related or STEM degrees with major studies and/or subject selections that align to agriculture.

AgriFutures Australia managing director, John Harvey, said collaboration across a broad range of disciplines will be crucial to the growth of the nation’s rural industries and he is excited to see the program evolve to meet this need.

“Our cohorts are no longer made up solely of ag students from traditional farming backgrounds. We now have scholars studying engineering, economics, plant and animal science.

“We have scholars who have never set foot on a farm in the same room as fifth-generation farmers, and this diversity in backgrounds and thinking is beginning to elevate the conversations beyond anything we’ve seen before,” he said.

Horizon scholarship program sponsors include Australian Wool Innovation, Meat & Livestock Australia, the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia, the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Dairy Australia, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), the McCaughey Memorial Institute and Australian Eggs.

“Creating a space for students to collaborate across traditional and emerging areas of rural industries will create a platform of networking, idea creation and forward thinking that is invaluable to the rural industries of the future and I thank all of the industry sponsors who recognise the value and importance of the investment into future leader,” Mr Harvey said.

To be eligible to apply students must:

• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• Be studying an undergraduate degree at an Australian university
• Be entering the final two years of their degree in 2021

Scholarship recipients will be selected on the basis of their commitment to a career in agriculture, as well as their leadership potential and tertiary academic record to date.

Applications close Friday, 15 January 2021 at midnight AEDT. Shortlisted applicants must be available for a telephone interview in February 2021, and scholarship winners will be announced in April 2021.

For more information and to apply visit www.agrifutures.com.au/horizon