By Aman Wirakartakusumah and Rickey Yada
Introduction:
As guided by the Term of Reference set by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) for the Education Committee, in the Education session at the 16th World Congress of Food Science and Technology in Brazil August 2012, the Education Committee reported the progress on the development of undergraduate curriculum guidelines and approvals for university programs in food science and technology.
It is understood that Food Science and Technology programs around the world are broad and diverse, catering to both local needs and education practices. While guidelines from IUFoST cannot be too prescriptive, undergraduate programs must meet basic criteria. Programs should include fundamental science: food chemistry, analysis and nutrition; food microbiology, safety and environment; and food engineering and technology. These are the hallmark disciplines of food science and technology. The distribution of weighting can vary, depending on the definition of the program, but breadth of knowledge should not come at the expense of depth of knowledge. Other important discipline areas that may be included are food management and business.
Aims, Duration and Delivery:
- The aims of these undergraduate studies are to prepare professionals for industry (management of production, quality control, research and development, process design) and/or candidates for higher education and ultimately research and/or academic careers.
- The duration of studies of approved programs must be at least 4 years or 5 years post-secondary schooling, where the first two years are mainly devoted to fundamental sciences. Five-year programs are more advanced than the four year programs and therefore roughly equivalent to a Master of Science. The change to five years will include more specialised or expanded courses, more projects and/or research periods or industry training periods. After the 4 year program, students can be accepted for a Master program and either the five-year program or the Master of Science program is generally required to lead to Doctoral programs.
- The delivery of courses must be associated with active teaching methods that contribute to the development of personal skills, through scientific teaching. Communication is a critical personal skill to be developed in all students. Courses must combine classroom study with experimental / practical/laboratory experience. Capstone experiences or other projects at the end of the program should integrate different aspects of food science and technology through independent learning opportunities. Assessment should be on the basis of outcomes, both course-specific and program-specific, with means of assessment of both. Thus prescribed schedules of study are not presented, rather it is the outcomes of such programs that are important.
Approvals and Requirements:
- University programs in food science, technology or engineering seeking recognition and approval from IUFoST must submit the following material to the IUFoST Education Committee for review. The Education Committee is in the process of developing guidelines for curricular development, including minimum required content for programs, and program approval. In the meantime, programs will be evaluated on an ad hoc basis against internationally accepted best practices. Approval will be based on program content (curriculum content and course content) and program quality (as assessed by incoming and outgoing student assessment, faculty, facilities and graduates). This information is presented in the following paragraphs.
- Brief description of University, College, and Department (or similar administrative structures), to develop a context in which the Food Science / Technology program exists. Include total approximate numbers of students at the university and number of students by year in the program under review.
- Description of the interaction of the program with the local food industry, government and NGO's (e.g. contributions of alumni to the program, work experience opportunities for students, success rate of placements of students in full-time employment post graduation, examples of the types of positions held by recent and 5- and 10-year graduates from the program, etc).
- Description of the incoming students: education level (high school or post-secondary school university preparatory programs) and quality of applicants, assessment process and acceptance rate of applicants
- Description of the desired outcomes of the program in terms of holistic student knowledge development, and assessment of that knowledge development .
- Name of degree granted, duration (3, 4 or 5 years) and schedule of studies (curriculum; course listing by semester of year) for the food science / technology program for which approval is being sought. Include required courses and optional courses according to streams, if any.
- List of faculty members who are teaching in the academic unit that offers the food science / technology program for which approval is being sought (name, highest university degree earned, full-time or part-time appointment, specialisation, courses taught).
- List of faculty members who are teaching in the food science / technology program for which approval is being sought, but who are not members of the academic unit that offers the program (name, highest university degree earned, full-time or part-time appointment, specialisation, courses taught).
- Description of facilities: teaching laboratories, pilot plant/processing capabilities, libraries, computer / internet access for students
- As an appendix, brief course outlines for all required courses within the program and course outlines for optional courses that are specific to food science / technology and offered as part of an optional stream, as above, showing course content and assessment methods.
Dr M. Aman Wirakartakusumah is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology and a former Rector of Institut Pertanian Bogor, Indonesia, was the former Indonesian Ambassador to UNESCO, and is the Chair of the IUFoST Education Committee (E-mail: aman_wira@yahoo.com); Dr Rickey Yada is a Professor in the Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Canada and is a member of the IUFoST Education Committee (E-mail: ryada@uoguelph.ca)
