Colleges and universities have been urged to enter their students into an annual awards scheme that rewards excellence in farm and rural business management. Entries for the 2010 Pinnacle Awards for Excellence in Business Management, now in their 13th year, opened on November 16th.
The Awards are run by the Farmers Club and sponsored by environmental consultancy ADAS and the Cave Foundation.
Brian Angell, head of agriculture and rural advice for ADAS said: “The Pinnacle Awards are about giving something back to the industry, challenging students and investing in the young agricultural talent of the future.
“They are there to stimulate and encourage an innovative approach to business management and to provide students with encouragement to develop their knowledge and application of budgeting, financial assessment and commercial initiative.”
Up for grabs is the Nickerson Cup and £1,250 for the winner. Second place wins £600, third place £400 and runners-up £150 each. Their college or university also receives an equal amount to the entrant.
The 2009 Nickerson Cup winner was George Hood, a final year student at Reading University.
To enter, tutors need to put forward students undertaking a final year rural or farm management project as part of normal coursework. Tutors can put forward up to two students per college. These are assessed against defined criteria set by the judging panel. The deadline for registering an initial interest is 18 December 2009 with full entries submitted by 19th March 2010.
After an initial assessment, short-listed candidates will be invited to The Farmers Club in London at the end of April for an interview and to provide a presentation of their project.
For more information and how to apply contact pinnacle@adas.co.uk or see
http://www.thefarmersclub.com/awards/club_awards_pinnacle.php