What was your PhD about?
It was about researching alternative proteins for animal feed that would be more sustainable, such as red clover, which takes nitrogen from the atmosphere and transfers it into the soil, thus reducing the need for artificial fertiliser. Or using broad beans, which are a native crop, to replace soya, which is flown in from South America and has a very high carbon footprint. At the time I was doing my PhD, from 2014-2017, no-one had really looked these kinds of ideas in detail and I got a lot of interest from farmers and industry. In fact, DAERA is now running a pilot scheme with farmers which directly leads on from the research.
What does your job involve?
It’s about supporting and maintaining the Fane Valley Feeds customer base as well as conducting some research and looking out for new ingredients that would be a USP for the company and running trials for those different products.
Does your postgraduate research help you in your industry role, do you think?
The PhD provided me with the foundation for discipline including time-management and organisational skills, which are easily transferable to my industry career. It has also gave me deeper understanding of the science than I would have had from merely my BSc degree in Ag Tech. In terms of lab techniques and methodologies and the rigour of evidence-gathering and statistics, you definitely have a fuller knowledge of the science end of things after a PhD – which definitely helps when you’re talking to people about new additives and ingredients.
Do you have any advice for anyone considering a PhD in this area?
I think it’s another string to your bow, even if you decide to work in industry. For the reasons outlined above, a PhD can give you more confidence and a deeper knowledge on which to draw, even if you’re in quite a practical role. On the other hand, you always have the option of returning to research at a later point, which is a good thing to have in your back pocket. So, it definitely opens up more doors.
Plus, I really enjoyed my PhD. I had a great supervisor in Dr Katerina Theodoridou, she was very supportive and I got to meet lots of new people. It was a great experience and I’m really glad to have had the opportunity.
