Lincoln University and Telford Polytechnic are now one, with the Government approving a merger between the two institutions.

The partnership will bring together more than 3000 full-time students, many of whom specialise in the rural sector.

Lincoln vice-chancellor Roger Field says the university will continue to offer Telford’s sub-degree courses.

“We’re really excited. I think it’s a fantastic statement for agriculture and in terms of the timing I don’t think it could be better because we sense a major upswing in the understanding of the value of agriculture and we see an upswing in interest from young people who want to study agriculture.”

Mr Field says while the partnership will bring with it some improvements in efficiency, no job losses are expected.