25.01.2012
The BSc Food Science programme at UCC has recently been approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in the United States, and as such is the first Food Science programme in Europe to recieve such as designation and testifies that its graduates are highly equiped as food scientists in a modern food industry. It joins the very successful BSc Nutritional Sciences programme at UCC which is the only non-UK based programme accredited by the Nutrition Society.
The food, beverage and agricultural sector in Ireland account s for 300,000 jobs, €8 billion worth of exports, about one-tenth of Gross Domestic Product, with exports growing at 12% per annum. University College Cork (UCC) has enjoyed a long, very successful and ever expanding strategically important role in educating and training high calibre graduates as well as providing upskilling and continued educational courses for those already in the workforce so as to meet the needs of a growing domestic and international food industry.
The BSc Food Science programme at UCC has recently been approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in the United States, and as such is the first Food Science programme in Europe to recieve such as designation and testifies that its graduates are highly equiped as food scientists in a modern food industry. It joins the very successful BSc Nutritional Sciences programme at UCC which is the only non-UK based programme accredited by the Nutrition Society.
The increasing demand for food and nutritional sciences graduates was highlighted in the conferring address by Mr Paul Kelly, Director, Food and Drink Industry Ireland, IBEC, to UCC graduates of the food degree programmes in September 2011 when he said ‘The global demand for food is expected to increase by 75% by 2050 with Ireland standing to benefit enormously, having plans to grow exports in the sector by 40% by 2020’.
As Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, the agri-food sector is extremely resilient in spite of the current recession and is central in driving an export-led economic recovery. Several factors such as increasing world population and the consistently high quality of our food ingredients/products are helping to drive increased demand for Irish food ingredients and products internationally. The aggressive growth targets set out for the Irish food industry in the Food Harvest 2020, Pathways for Growth and Food Research Ireland: Meeting the needs of Ireland’s food sector to 2020 through research and innovation reports present many exciting opportunities for UCC students of Food Science and Nutritional Sciences, in ensuring that the industry is resourced with high-skilled food graduates and has access to world-class training, research and pilot-scale food processing facilities to help meet and exceed those growth targets.
At the recent Institute of International and European Affairs Conference entitled ‘A Flavor of the Future: Challenges for Irish agri-food in the global marketplace’, Tom Mulqueen, VP Operations, Pfizer Nutrition and John Moloney, Group MD, Glanbia both highlighted the industry’s need for well qualified, high potential food science, technology and nutrition graduates to ensure realization of the opportunities ahead.
In a recent article designed to help leaving certificate students with completing CAO applications, the Sunday Independent identified what industry sectors they expect the jobs to be in 2015 – needless to say, the agri-food sector specifically and the science and technology sector in general were towards the top of that list offering those taking up courses in Food Science and Nutritional Sciences at UCC huge potential in the years ahead. This was also evidenced in a recent survey showing that all graduates of the UCC Food Science class of 2011 have secured employment across a broad range of companies such as Kerry Group, North Cork Co-op, Dawn Meats, Dairygold Food Ingredients, Tipperary Spring Water, Mars and Baxters.
