Food Engineering

The Master degree in Food Engineering aims at the education of a technician with high scientific education and ability to apply knowledge to processes of food industry. The curriculum includes contents which allow a fruitful interaction of the food engineer with other professionals playing a role in food production such as food chemist, microbiologist and food technologist. The food engineer is able to apply typical engineering methodologies to the design and operation of food processing plants.

Graduates will have knowledge and understanding of: the methodological and operational aspects of mathematics, physics, chemistry, inorganic and organic bases of information technology, food microbiology and food technology and will be able to use such knowledge and skills to develop and / or apply new ideas to applications and complex problems in food engineering research or industrial environments; the methodological and operational aspects of engineering sciences and, more in depth, of food engineering, in all its applications (production, processing, storage, packaging, quality management and sewage treatment ); the bases of specific regulations governing food safety and the processes of transformation and conservation; the business environments and corporate culture in its economic aspects, management and organizational; the contemporary contexts in terms of the labor market, enterprise policy and socio-economic national and European level; the impact of engineering solutions and industrial activities, in which he works, on the social and physical environment.

Graduates will have the ability to apply knowledge in: the identification, formulation and resolution of complex problems related to the design and operation of food processing plants and, more in general, to the production of materials interacting with biological systems, such as drugs or food packaging, and to solve problems of all industrial applications listed among the professional opportunities; the planning and management of food process systems and services; the design and conduct of equipment, systems and food processes, also of considerable complexity; the use of computational techniques and modelling, based on fundamental principles or experimental information, to verify proper operation or to design equipment, systems or processes of food engineering; the installation and testing of machinery and equipment and food biotechnology; the design and development of innovative processes for the production of new food; the design of processes for the recycle and recovery of value from food wastes and for the reduction of the environmental impact and energy consumption of food processes; the management of production, maintenance and insurance and quality control in food industry; the design of experiments and analysis and interpretation of experimental data relevant to food products and production.

Graduates will have wide opportunity of employment in: food production industries, including the dairy industry, the canning industry, the pasta industry, the oil industry, the beverage industry, the wine industry; pharmaceutical and process industries; companies in the sector of the cold chain for storage and transport of frozen foods; companies for the production of food industry machinery; in companies for the production, handling and transport of flours; technical structures for the control of the environment or industrial safety including food related issues; structures for big supermarket chains working on the selection of products, the evaluation of the congruence of prices, the certification of product quality / process; companies for the use of materials, polymers, ceramics, glassy metals and composites, for applications in food packaging; holdings of municipal services, industrial laboratories and research centers and development of business and government and private studies and expert design, engineering companies; as freelance technical advisor for production processes, plant design and certification of quality for small and medium-sized food companies.