Writtle-lecturer Dr Wendy Fernandes brings back to Essex knowledge on fish farming from Hungary and Norway through prestigious Farmers’ Club Agricultural Educators Award.
Wendy, who is a leading lecturer in animal science at Writtle University College, was one of only five recipients in Britain who received a coveted bursary from the Farmers Club Charitable Trust earlier this year.
The bursary has enabled Wendy to travel to Hungary and Norway to look at and assess fish farming techniques in the continent, establish new international collaboration which will, in due course, contribute towards new degree course content at the university college.
These awards aim to help those employed in agricultural education to widen their own technical expertise through study activities in the UK or abroad.
Commenting about the award and what it would mean to education in the UK and beyond, Wendy said: “I am very proud to have received this recognition as it has further enabled me to collaborate with other leading researchers in the field of aquaculture, to see first-hand developments in fish farming abroad and assess how they could potentially be adapted to current UK systems.
“Aquaculture is a fast-expanding area for developing sustainable seafood from the ocean and there is still a lot of research to do to understand how long-term security and profitability from aquaculture can be maximised in the most efficient, sustainable and socially responsible way. It is with this in mind that I would consider including aquaculture in a degree-level award at Writtle in the future.”
Wendy joined Writtle University College in September 2015 and teaches students at both degree and masters level. She has a long-standing interest in fish farming – her PhD investigated the Atlantic salmon life history and she continues to collaborate with Cardiff University, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and Wessex Water.