Speech by Dr Michael P. Mortell
President, University College, Cork
at the Conferring of Degrees & Diplomas in Food Science and Technology
Wednesday, 22 July 1998 at 10.00 a.m.
 
UCC - A Major Resource for the Global Food Sector in the New Millenium

The fact that we have a full graduation ceremony devoted to the graduates of our Food Science and Technology Faculty highlights the priority that UCC attaches to education, research and training dedicated to ‘Food’. UCC is committed to the education of graduates who will serve the food-related needs of society in general and the Irish Food industry in particular. That remains our most important indigenous industry and it is worth reminding ourselves that the Agri-Food sector contributes exports in excess of £5 billion per annum and provides employment for 134,000 people.

The sector is an interesting mix of large companies which have become key players in the global food market and smaller companies that target niche markets in Ireland and overseas. Our challenge at UCC is to provide graduates with the diversity of skills required in the global food sector. This diversity is reflected in the mix of our new graduates today who cover the business, scientific and technological aspects of the food business.

These skills are much wider than the conventional education in science and technology of earlier years. We are very much aware of the need to expose our students to new developments in information technology and to the concepts of innovation and enterprise that are required in the modern business world. In this regard, I am delighted to take this opportunity to congratulate those ‘Food’ graduates who won all of the UCC/Ulster Bank Entrepreneurship Awards in the first year of the scheme - a scheme designed to encourage and help UCC students to be more entrepreneurial in their outlook and to foster a spirit of enterprise among the student body.

I would also like to give specific mention to the graduates who have obtained the Diploma in Rural Development by Distance Learning because their programme of study is the result of a unique collaboration between the four NUI Universities. The participants are themselves actively involved in rural development and have effectively availed of the opportunity to combine theory and practice.

I would like to highlight some recent developments at UCC which emphasise our role as the food university in Ireland. Strategic partnerships have been developed between UCC, the Irish Government and the Food Industry - partnerships which will be even more important to us all as we face the challenges of the new Millenium.

UCC has prioritised the development of a critical mass of high quality, human resources dedicated to ‘Food’. We have greatly expanded our Faculty staff with appointments in Food Safety, Food Marketing, Food Packaging and Consumer Services. We have restructured the Faculty by combining four Departments into one new Department of Food Science and Technology and we are in the final stages of recruiting new Professors in Food Chemistry and Food Technology to ensure continued strong, academic leadership in these areas.

Professor Charles Daly has been appointed as AIB Professor of Food Science and Technology and Head of the new Department. We are grateful to AIB Bank for their generous endowment of the new Professorship for the next five years. The involvement of AIB Bank is an example of the strategic partnerships I spoke of earlier and represents a clear endorsement of UCC’s role in serving the future needs of society and of the food industry.

In addition to expanding our human resources, we have greatly enhanced our physical resources dedicated to food. I am delighted to acknowledge the support of Government through the provision of Structural Funds for our new Food Science and Technology Research Complex opened in 1995 and for the Food Business section of the new O’Rahilly Building which will be officially opened this September.

We are grateful too to the Department of Agriculture and Food and the UCC/Food Industry Partnership Board for funding provided to refurbish sections of our Food Processing Hall and Research Laboratories in the older part of the Food Science and Technology Complex. This refurbishment programme has provided state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for teaching and research in topics such as consumer foods, bakery and beverages. These complement our traditional strengths in the dairy and meat sectors. A particularly innovative aspect of this initiative is the installation of a pilot-scale brewery which will ensure that our graduates will have the skills required for that industry sector.

These recent resource expansions have been timely in that they have enabled us to become a leading player in the Non-Commissioned Food Research Programme which is administered by the Department of Agriculture and Food under the 1994-1999 Structural Funds Programme. The Government deserves great credit for putting this Programme in place - it is the first national, inter-institutional, food research programme in Ireland and funding of approximately £42 million has been provided for Teagasc and the Universities.

That funding has provided a tremendous boost to food research in Ireland. It is providing a highly trained workforce available to industry and it focuses on key consumer issues such as food safety and nutrition as well as on research that has underpinned the growth of sectors such as food ingredients and consumer foods. Considerable collaboration is involved between Teagasc and the Universities, with a dedicated Research Dissemination Project which has the objective of ensuring that the research results are made available directly to the Irish food industry.

UCC’s Food Research Programme has also received international endorsement through its major involvement in EU international collaborations within EU Framework Programmes and, in particular, within the Agro-Industrial and Biotechnology Programmes. An important objective at UCC is increasing the participation of Irish food companies in EU Programmes, thus providing exposure to new developments, exchange of scientists, information etc.

In addition to its teaching and research activities, the Food Science and Technology Faculty has continued UCC’s long tradition in the area of Continuing Education and Training. Here again, partnerships are proving important. The Food Industry Training Unit which was established in 1993, has received financial support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and works with the Commerce Faculty and Centre for Adult and Continuing Education within UCC as well as external agencies such as FAS, Enterprise Ireland (formerly Forbairt) and Teagasc. Thus it provides a range of courses and workshops targeted to meeting the life-long knowledge and skills needs of those in the Irish food industry.

Continuing the partnership theme, the UCC/Food Industry Partnership Board, chaired by Dr. Declan Scott and involving industry representatives, provides an important forum for dialogue between UCC and the food industry while the funds donated by the member companies have assisted important developments at UCC including new academic staff appointments in Food Packaging and Sensory Food Science.

The Board has, in addition, provided funding for two-key posts in the Faculty. A Work Placement officer will organise, jointly with the UCC Careers Service, six-month Work Placements for all our degree students, while a dedicated Food Communications/ Information Officer will provide information on ‘Food’ issues to consumers, the media and the food industry. Dr. Maria Harrington has been appointed to this post.

As we move to the new Millenium it is essential that the momentum achieved to date is at least maintained and built upon. Countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands have developed national strategies for education and research support for their Agri-Food Sectors. These strategies involve partnership roles between key universities, research institutes and the food industry. In this approach, key players are identified and are expected to contribute to a national effort.

In Ireland, our present activities are very dependent on the availability of Structural Funds. The position after 1999 is, therefore, unclear. It is vital that the momentum and excellent results achieved in the Non-Commissioned Food Research Programme are continued in a new dedicated food research programme.

Such a development is essential to meet the needs of the industry in the free market situation that will pertain. On this front, the Department of Agriculture and Food has established an Industry Development Group to identify the needs of the Food Sector - it is important that the vital role of institutional research is recognised.

On the international front, the new EU Research Programme - the Fifth Framework Programme - will commence early in 1999. It is our intention to continue our international collaborations and to include a greater number of Irish food companies - including small and medium sized enterprises - in our EU Projects so that the spin-offs to the food sector are increased.

Our clear objective is to maximise UCC’s contribution as a key information resource for Ireland’s food sector. To do this we will have to follow the lead of our key companies in paying attention to the global food market.

We have, for example, identified ‘Food and Health’ as a strategic development area, building on and combining the strength of our Faculties of Medicine and Food Science and Technology. It is vital that Ireland has a major presence in the new Functional Foods Market that has emerged in response to consumer demand for foods that provide direct benefits to health. Indeed, this emerging area represents enormous potential for inward investment into Ireland, where Ireland can become a prime location for start-up companies in the ‘Pharma-Food Sector’.

UCC is committed to the ‘Food’ area. Our aim is to continue as a leading international player in this exciting and growing area by developing our partnership strategies. I am confident that you, our new graduates, will find job satisfaction and rewarding challenges in the global food industry.