CLAAS SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS – funding for young ambitious enthusiasts in agricultural engineering

The Helmut Claas-Scholarship has been running since 2000. It is one initiative of the CLAAS Foundation and was set up by Mr Helmut Claas with a number of educational objectives, but principally to support universities and their graduate students in the pursuit of Agricultural Engineering and general agricultural development.

There are a number of functions in support of this aspect of agricultural education, through various fundings such as scholarships and special prizes for innovative projects designed to enhance the state of the art in Agricultural Engineering. In addition to universities, these include research centres and schools with agricultural or STEM related projects.

The Helmut Claas-Scholarship is aimed at students, who have completed their Bachelor’s degree in such topics and are then developing their research projects through a Master’s programme. There are four main prizes, and also four bonus prizes awarded each year for winning students submitting their Batchelor thesis.

An international focus

It is open to students from all countries, with submissions in either

German or English language, on topics related to Agricultural Engineering, or agricultural development subjects. The submissions are judged by a panel of experienced industry people in the UK and Germany who are drawn from a mixture of academia and industry.

In October 2022, CLAAS welcomed the winning students, together with their respective tutors to their Headquarters in Harsewinkel, Germany, for the Foundation’s annual Awards Ceremony. This was the first event held in person, after an enforced two-year break due to Covid restrictions.

All the visitors had a relaxed evening where students could present their work to key members of the CLAAS business and their engineers, as well as other visitors, including professors from various universities. This was followed the next day, by a tour of the recently modernised CLAAS factory at Harsewinkel and then a formal presentation of prizes, by Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, Chairperson of the CLAAS Group and Chair of the CLAAS Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

UK winners

Harper Adams University (HAU) featured strongly in the awards as they often do, with third in the main prize category, plus two students winning a bonus prize, out of a total of eight submissions from Harper Adams University.

It should be noted that MEng students can submit their work for this Scholarship as it is classified as an undergraduate level.

The overall results for 2022 were:

Main Prizes: (PhD) 1st €7,200; 2nd €6,000; 3rd €4,800; 4th €3,600

1st Patricia Ulbricht - Leipzig University – Analysis of Regenerative Agriculture

2nd Paul Speitelsbach – Hohenheim University – Light Robot based traction system

3rd Richard Geary – Harper Adams University – Automated Maize head picking plates

4th Lasse Clausen – Neubrandenburg University – Pre-Series Combine evaluation

Bonus Prizes: (BSc) Ca €1,500 each

John Morgan – Harper Adams University – Poultry behaviour image managing system

James Shaw – Harper Adams University – Anaerobic pellets in centrifugal distributor

Nathaneal Ebertshaeuser – Hohenheim University – Tractor tyre rolling resistance

Jessica Emminghaus – Hohenheim University – Electrification power in agriculture

Apply for a scholarship

A reminder for all students of Agricultural Engineering and agricultural related subjects –why not submit your work to the Helmut Claas Scholarship?

Application deadline for 2023 is: Monday 26th June 2023

Applications are reviewed and judged over the summer months

Intermediate information is relayed to students in September

Prize winning Awards presentation will be on the: 17th & 18th October 2023

Go to www.claas-stiftung.com for additional information

Application details, typical topics and judging criteria will be made available from your Institute.