Food Innovation Program brings entrepreneurship, food culture and technology to the table, ready to serve up the global food leaders of tomorrow.
New Master’s degree centered on food, technology and innovation at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in partnership with the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto and the Future Food Institute.
Bologna, Italy, December 2014 – University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UNIMORE), Institute for the Future e Future Food Institute, have come together to launch the Food Innovation Program. A full time Master’s program starting March 2015 until December 2015 (thesis work included) taught by distinguished international professors, opinion leaders and entrepreneurs at the forefront of food and innovation.
Among its many core objectives, the Food Innovation Program aims to identify the critical technologies for shaping agriculture, food distribution, retail and consumption while taking into consideration food safety, social relationships and regulations. In addition, the program aims to expand and develop radical innovations in the sector, building on Seeds of Disruption: How Technology is Remaking the Future of Food, a map of the ways in which technologies can be used to close gaps in the food system developed by the Institute for the Future (Palo Alto, CA).
“Institute for the Future is thrilled to see our forecast map, Seeds of Disruption: How Technology is Remaking the Future of Food, inspire the next generation of innovators. We can’t wait to see how the students’ ideas, designs, and prototypes merge tradition with innovation to build a more resilient, sustainable, equitable, and delicious future of food.” Rebecca Chesney, IFTF Food Futures Lab
Food plays a multifaceted role in our lives. However, the dynamics of our global food system have become increasingly complex and dangerously unsustainable. What will we be eating in twenty years? How will we produce food in the future to sustain over 9 billion people? These are just some of the urgent questions we face that can only be addressed through the continuous process of innovation. The Food Innovation Program will offer the opportunity to address these and many more urgent issues and provide students the opportunity and inspiration to bring into light and into existence their ideas and become leaders in the field of food innovation.
“The Future Food Institute strongly believes that only through exchanging knowledge, fostering innovation, cultivating creativity, being inspired by visionary social entrepreneurs and empowering education, we can face the challenge of nourishing people and the planet in a healthier way. The Food Innovation Program brings together young and visionary entrepreneurs, developers, experts, foodies, producers with innovative and disruptive ideas that can create positive impact on local and global levels.” Sara Roversi, Founder, Future Food Institute
The program will be divided into two phases: a theoretical phase followed by a 5-month hands-on phase. The theoretical component of the program will be taught at the new Food Innovation Space in Reggio Emilia, designed specifically for the program. It will include an introduction to IFTF’s research methodologies and design thinking. Following the Reggio Approach, renowned instructors such as Caleb Harper (MIT CityFarm) and Claude Fischler (Interdisciplinary Institute for Contemporary Anthropology) as well as opinion leaders and successful entrepreneurs from around the world will inspire students through exploration and discovery. The hands-on phase will include workshops based in the ”Officucina“, a makerspace for prototyping innovative products and services specifically created for the program. Students will also take part in Innovation Challenges posed by our partner companies and participate in various Hackathon events that will provide opportunities to exchange and build out their ideas with a broader community during Expo Milano 2015: Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.
“L' Food Innovation Program is a unique opportunity that integrates the skills to shape key players to lead us into the future, the food innovators. Naturally, Italy is the proper breeding ground to develop a project like this because here it is possible to imagine a future where culture and technology are a synthesis centered on people and their needs”. Prof. Matteo Vignoli, Scientific Director, Food Innovation Program (UNIMORE)
Applications close January 26, 2015.
For more information, please visit the program website: www.foodinnovationprogram.org or email: info@foodinnovationprogram.org