The Food and Beverage Innovation and Management Master Degree Programme (M.Sc.) qualifies you for employment in food companies and related industries involved in food production, quality, and safety as well as equipment manufacturing—in Italy and internationally. You may also have the opportunity to engage in public or private organizations, laboratories, and consultancy in the field of food.  As graduate you might get the opportunity to continue your studies and apply for admission to the three-year PhD, or specialization schools.

The Food and Beverage Innovation and Management programme wants to train professionals able to perform technical tasks and advanced management activities aimed to continuously improve food and beverages from the sanitary, sensory, nutritional, and economic point of view, with the objective to adopt and propose innovations in production processes, with respect to environmental compatibility and sustainability.

The Food and Beverage Innovation and Management programme fills the gab of a witnessing trend where technologies in areas such as food safety, biotechnology, biochemical enzyme technology, functional food, and production technology, sustainability in organic agriculture  and various management disciplines do not find an adequate place in the traditional food production field. 

This development introduces new and complex food production and processing technologies, which increases the demand for highly qualified food technology experts. Therefore, there is ample scope for finding an interesting job after graduation, but you might also get the opportunity to continue your studies and pursue a PhD.

Skills

The Food and Beverage Innovation and Management graduates acquire specific skills in the following areas:

• Safety and quality of raw materials and finished food products

• Food processes and technologies, with special focus on topics related to the process innovation and products innovations as well as environmental sustainability of processes and rationalization of energy use

• Agribusiness economics and management, including agro-food politics

Typical fields of work

The Food and Beverage Innovation and Management programme  prepares graduates to perform a wide range of tasks:

• Design strategies and sustainable management (environmental, economic and social)

• Participation in innovative processes

• Product development

o    Design and develop highly innovative foods, beverage and formula by exploiting the natural resources of the Italian
      (made in Italy) and Mediterranean agro-food tradition.

o    Design and develop functional foods and novel foods

o    Design and develop novel (innovative) types of services (convenience food) in public and private catering

• Managing consultancy in the field of food and beverage for private companies and public institutions

• Managing the safety and quality of foods with integrated activites within the whole food supply chain, in accordance
   with the law and the international standards

• Develop and coordinate Research and development project within the agro-food sector

• Rationalize transformation and storage processes to reduce cost and environmental impact;

Career opportunities

The Food and Beverage Innovation and Management programme qualifies you for employment in food companies and related industries involved in food production, quality, and safety as well as equipment manufacturing—in Italy and internationally. You may also have the opportunity to engage in public or private organizations, laboratories, and consultancy in the field of food. 

The Master degree allows you to access to the State Examiation to obtain the qualification to the regulated professions of Food Technologist (Law n. 59, 18 January 1994, n. 59) and Doctor of Agronomy and Forestry (DPR 5 June 2001, n. 328).

Directive 2005/36/EC relative to recognition of professional qualifications also provides the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services to citizens of the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU), as well as citizens of Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, who wish to pursue a regulated profession in a Member State other than that in which they obtained their professional qualifications, either as self-employed or as employees.

Therefore, the professional activity of Graduates in Food and Beverage Innovation and Management can be practiced:

• In the liberal profession, also performed in professional studies;

• In the enterprises of the agro-food sector and businesses connected to it (production and marketing of machines, systems and services for agro-food industry);

• In the mass distribution circuit (GOD);

• In public and private organizations, carrying out, for various purposes, planning, analysis, control, certification and scientific investigations for the protection and improvement of food production (Assessorati all'Agricoltura, Camere di Commercio, Services and national and regional agencies operating in the agro-food industry);

• In national and international institutions performing studies and researches on issues of agricultural and food policies, food security and food aid programmes (FAO, World Bank, OECD, European Commission, etc.);

• In training institutions;

• In the wholesale trade of food and beverages;

• In hotels, restaurants and service companies for the mass catering (canteens, schools, hospitals etc.);

• In the holdings dealing with wine-making and oil extraction and processing;

• In business organizations (Federalimentare, agricultural organizations, etc.).

• In public administration (University, High School, local authorities, etc.), subjected to specific authorization and exceeding the competitions required by law.

As graduate you might get the opportunity to continue your studies and apply for admission to the three-year PhD, or specialization schools.