Ornua has announced its continued support for a fully funded postgraduate scholarship at Cork University Business School, University College Cork (UCC) for the 2022-2023 academic year.
The MSc. in Co-operatives, Agri-Food and Sustainable Development was launched last year “integrating co-operative approaches into the study of sustainable development and agri-food” an Ornua spokesperson said.
Through a combination of work placements and research-based learning, the programme is effective in giving students the knowledge, skills and practical experience needed to secure exciting sustainable-development and agri-food roles across a variety of areas, the spokesperson added.
Such areas include: Environmental, social and governance (ESG); green energy; logistics; project management; agri-advisory; and consultancy and research.
The Ornua scholarship, launched for the first time in 2021, will support a postgraduate student in the upcoming academic year, as they work towards becoming the next sustainable leader in agri-food business.
The successful scholar will also complete a work placement with Ornua as part of their participation in the programme.
Isabel Power was the first recipient of the scholarship and having undertaken the masters programme, she concluded her studies with a five-month work placement within Ornua’s sustainability team.
Commenting on her experience, she said: “I am passionate about the co-operative model and its potential for sustainable development and community wealth building. I believe that this scholarship and work placement have kickstarted my career in co-operatives and sustainability, areas of enormous growth and future importance.
“I am incredibly grateful to Ornua for supporting my studies and for providing me with this wonderful opportunity.”
Commenting on the programme, Dave Fitzgerald, sustainability director, Ornua said:
“As a co-operative, and Ireland’s largest exporter of dairy products, Ornua is committed to safeguarding the future of the sector and returning value to Irish farming families by achieving sustainable growth.
“We also understand and value the importance of collaboration between industry and academia in responding to the challenges and opportunities associated with growing sustainably and are therefore proud to support the development of tomorrow’s agri-food leaders through the Ornua scholarship.”
Dr. Olive McCarthy, programme director of the postgraduate course at UCC added: “At Cork University Business School, we are committed to providing a dynamic, supportive learning and research environment, which recognises the diverse backgrounds and interests of students, staff and partner organisations. We are hugely grateful to Ornua for allowing us to further this ambition for the second year running.”
The application process for the 2022-2023 academic year is open until Monday, August 22, 2022.