Master of Science in Bioscience Engineering: Food Science and Nutrition

Food transition is in full swing: how will we be able to feed a world population of nearly 10 billion without exceeding our planet’s resources? The protein transition with a greater focus on vegetarian food or alternative proteins; the demand for healthier and more personalized food containing less sugar, salt, fat or additives; sustainability transition with eye for biodiversity, authenticity and a wakefulness against contaminants and food fraud. Current challenges are technical innovations with a focus on mild preservation techniques and a striving towards less food waste in combination with (more) sustainable packaging.

The Master of Science in Bioscience Engineering: Food Science and Nutrition is an engineering programme with a focus on the (bio)technological, (physio)chemical, microbiological, and nutritional aspects of food in combination with an accrued knowledge of the supply sectors. Not only do we train our Master’s students to understand the various processes raw materials (sourced from biotechnology, circular processes or conventional agriculture) undergo during the food production, conservation and preparation processes, we also train them to look at these processes in a quantitative manner and to optimize them further. In addition, the programme wants to further contextualize the field of food and nutrition with a focus on quality management and risk analysis, consumer behaviour and packaging technology. We also attach great importance to our students’ acquiring insight into the relation between food and health via the programme, in order to separate truths from untruths in the endless information flow on food and nutrition. These insights can help them guide others towards ‘food literacy’. We stimulate our students to put into practice their acquired knowledge in a creative, targeted and innovative fashion, e.g. for international policy support on sustainable food and health, or research into new concepts for the food sector as part of a bio-based economy.

The Master of Science in Bioscience Engineering: Food Science and Nutrition curriculum builds on the basic disciplines and engineering skills taught in the Bachelor’s programme. The first year of the Master’s programme contains more specific food-oriented course units (among other things, e.g. Food Technology, Human Nutrition, Biochemical and Functional Analysis of Foods). Course units like e.g. Food Regulation, Quality Management and Risk Analysis and Consumer Behaviour offer a broadening scope. The programme offers an integrative approach to the sustainability of the food system, the role of food in society and the international aspects of the discipline. The second year offers more freedom to choose electives that fit the purpose of the Master’s dissertation, or to conduct the Master’s dissertation research abroad. The course unit ‘Product Innovation in the Food Industry’ integrates all the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the programme. In multidisciplinary teams, students are asked to develop an innovative article of food hands-on, capitalizing on the food transition.

The Faculty of Bioscience Engineering is highly international. As such it is a hub for meeting students and cultures from all over the world. Additionally, there are several ways to gain experience abroad. You can, for example, participate in an exchange programme during the Master’s programme. A work placement abroad is also one of the possibilities. In addition, you can go abroad for a period of time as part of your Master’s dissertation. For programme-specific information, please visit www.ugent.be/bw/nl/voor-studenten/buitenland.

Bioengineers with a specialization in food science and nutrition contribute to a sustainable transition in our food systems. The programme prepares students for a career in the field of food science, in particular the high-tech food industry and their suppliers (e.g. packaging, ingredients, equipment, biotechnology) and related sectors such as the bioindustry, the pharmaceutical and animal nutrition sectors. Our graduates find employment in companies as R&D managers, quality managers, process engineers or packaging engineers. In Belgium and Europe, the food industry is still the largest industrial employer. Other options include (international) policy-making on food strategies, NGOs (consumer and sector organizations) or research institutions working in the field of nutrition and health. Bioengineers also increasingly set up their own enterprise (e.g. production of unique food stuffs, consultancy).

Find out where our graduates work (Dutch only) and take a look at our alumni’s highly diverse profiles.