Marking the 100th anniversary of Helmut Claas’s birth

Agricultural technology pioneer Helmut Claas would have turned 100 in July. The CLAAS Foundation is marking the 100th birthday of its namesake with two significant initiatives to support young talent: firstly, there will be a new Helmut Claas Scholarship specifically for North America; secondly, the existing international Helmut Claas Scholarship, which focuses on bachelor’s theses, will receive a higher endowment in future.

A legacy that shapes the future – Helmut Claas, born on 16 July 1926, shaped the CLAAS company for decades as a visionary entrepreneur and passionate champion of young talent in agricultural engineering. The international Helmut Claas Scholarship was the CLAAS Foundation’s first initiative – a support programme that Helmut Claas personally initiated and to which he always attached particular importance. His aim was to inspire young talent to take an interest in agricultural technology and to pave the way for them to enter the sector.

“Agricultural technology needs the best minds in the world - and the best minds in the world need an opportunity. Supporting the next generation is not a luxury; it is our responsibility towards the future of agriculture,” Helmut Claas used to say.

 

New Helmut Claas-Scholarship for North America

In cooperation with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), one of the leading universities for agricultural engineering in the U.S., the CLAAS Foundation is launching the Helmut Claas-Scholarship for students who commencing their agricultural engineering studies at UNL. The scholarship builds on the CLAAS Foundation’s long-standing international alignment and embeds a strong signal in favour of cross-border cooperation in agricultural engineering education.

The partnership with UNL represents more than just an institutional collaboration: it brings together two traditions of excellence in agricultural engineering - the European and the North American.

Increase in the endowed amount of the international Helmut Claas-Scholarship

At the same time, the CLAAS Foundation is increasing the funding for the existing international Helmut Claas-Scholarship, which supports students in producing outstanding bachelor’s theses in the field of agricultural engineering. First place will in future be awarded 10,000 euros (previously 7,200 euros). With this measure, the Foundation is underlining its appreciation of academic achievement even in the early stages of a degree programme and enhancing the appeal of a career in agricultural engineering.