| Education
Hadlow College looks to the future with its Vision50
concept
o commemorate its 50th
anniversary, the College has
created the ‘Vision50’ concept
– a vision of what rural
education will be like in 50
years’ time. As part of this, they
are working with Studio Evans Lane, who have
developed, and will be building, an ‘agri-rural
simulation environment’ – a unique, interactive,
immersive system designed to manage farming
on a large-scale. A 1:17 scale model of this
innovative concept was unveiled last year and
Hadlow anticipates being able to unveil the
Vision50 prototype at this year’s Kent County
Show, where visitors will be able to learn more
about this exciting learning tool for the future.
Vision50 seeks to explore some of the
technology needed within the sector, and
examines some of the skills that the next
generation of farmers and growers will need to
work with. Based on computer gaming software
and advances in agricultural technology, the
simulator will include real-life robotics and
simulations. Students will be able to work
interactively and collaboratively with the tool to
learn a range of techniques.
Graduates are crucial to drive innovation in
this progressively high-tech sector and the
advent of precision technology such as remote
sensing, robotics and GPS mapping,
agriculture and production horticulture offer
increasingly modern, exciting and challenging
T
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk
There are many challenges facing today's farmers, such as climate change,
market volatility and reliance on subsidies. By 2050 the planet will be home to
approximately 9 billion people and food production will need to increase by
around 70% to meet the demand. Crop wastage will need to reduce and
efficiencies will need to increase. Technology, and increased data usage will
be fundamental to the sector in meeting these challenges. This has prompted
Hadlow College to ask the question: what does the next half-century hold for
land-based education?
careers: crop technicians, agronomists, soil
scientists, plant geneticists and nutritionists.
Hadlow College creating people’s futures - and
Vision50 will ensure their undergraduates are at
the forefront of this digital revolution in the rural
industries they serve.
Visit www.vision50.hadlow.ac.uk or
www.hadlow.ac.uk
June 2018 | Farming Monthly | 43