Alltech Graduate Programme kicks off
The future leaders of agribusiness have finally arrived. The Alltech Graduate Program has kicked off this week with the arrival of the 21 graduates, selected from more than 1,500 applicants, from all corners of the world including the UK, Ireland, India, Estonia, Canada and the USA, at the Alltech European Bioscience Centre in Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland.
Graduates will attend two weeks of training and lectures in Alltech’s facility in Dunboyne, including presentations from staff in the facility, lectures from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and talks from Alltech’s vice presidents and directors. Following this, the graduates will be flown to Alltech’s corporate headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky for another week of training. After that they will be placed in one of Alltech’s 128 global offices to spend their remaining year working on exciting projects in the areas of animal science, aquaculture, crop science and Alltech’s consumer brands.
The graduates’ goals and interests are as varied as their backgrounds:
“My goal is to develop leadership skills so that I can be a good manager and learn the skills to launch a business,” said Chetna Chada from India and graduate of Greenwich University, London.
William Dracott from Kent in the UK and graduate of Durham University, said “I’m hoping to get exposure to new businesses that I haven’t encountered before. I’m not from a business background, my degree is in zoology, so I’d like to learn how to apply that to a business career.”
Anubhuti Bajpai, business development graduate from the University of Warwick discussed her motivation: “I love working with animals and I want to have a job where I can involve my passion but with a business focus, somewhere that I can work with other cultures.”
“I really just want to solidify my career path. I’m already a chemist but I need to know how to network with business people and learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur. My undergraduate research was in algae so I’m hoping to work in that area in the future,” Daniel Grubb from Georgetown College in Kentucky explained.
Steve Bourne, vice president, Alltech and head of the Alltech Graduate Program was here to welcome the new graduates. “I am so proud of what this program has already accomplished. Here in Dunboyne, Ireland we have 21 of the most eager and talented young people in the world, ready to lend their skills and creativity to cutting edge projects,” he said. “In return, we will offer these graduates unprecedented access to the best that Alltech has to offer, expanding their knowledge and experience in every way that we can. We have always put great emphasis on developing new talent and the development and training of these graduates will be no exception.”
Frank Bradley of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School was also present to meet the graduates.“I am thrilled to be a part of this program, where graduates from around the world will have the chance to further their education by undertaking entrepreneurial, commercial projects, on a global scale, with their new colleagues in Alltech. The combination of their university education and real world experience will stand to the graduates for the duration of their career and will provide them with a unique opportunity for personal and professional development,” he said.
