NFOK14031U Thematic Course in Food Innovation and Health

Volume 2016/2017
Education

MSc Programme in Food Innovation and Health

Content

The course contains two parts. Initially an intensive two week teaching program that gives overview of concepts and methods used in a scientific approach to small-scale food production and topics related to open innovation, co-creation, business models and value capturing. In part two, students work project-based in groups with development, pitching and consumer tests of actual food products. This latter part is based on challenges from enterprises or organisations. 

Teaching program 
Reading and practical experience with classic and new tools and techniques in the production of food and meals in a gastronomic context.  
The scientific focus is the understanding of the chemistry and physics behind the gastronomic preparation methods, and the effect of these methods on the physical, chemical and sensory conditions of food with regard to creating aesthetic, palatable and healthy foods. A focus on understanding successful food companies’ business models and open innovation strategies is applied.

  • Real business cases with development of new food products.  
  • Practical exercises in kitchen utilizing a selection of culinary techniques. 
  • Exercises in ideation and open innovation
  • Exercise with reflection over business models and open innovation processes.
  • Gastronomic creativity training: development and production of foods under various constraints (time, materials, economy, techniques) to develop an innovative mind-set, increase students’ creativity and promote action-oriented work based on own academic and professional competences. 


In the project phase students work independently in groups with a challenge from enterprises or organisations. The problem is analysed in a scientific way and the subject is discussed using competences acquired through the teaching period and preceding course work in the education. The approach trains students to apply their theoretical background to create new food products using their scientific approach to gastronomy, food chemistry, consumer experience and behaviour.

Learning Outcome

The objective of the course is to give students knowledge of practical culinary production and innovation with a focus on palatability and health in food products. 

It is the aim to establish a rational gastronomic foundation and to provide the students with an insight to put their knowledge of culinary techniques to practical use and develop techniques and ingredients, in order to renew cooking, food production and create new products.

Knowledge

  • Experience with ideation, open innovation, business model generation and value proposition design for developed food products. 
  • General knowledge of basic operations and tools for culinary food production.
  • Adapt methods of preparation for different raw materials based on a rational scientific foundation. 
  • Reflect on the nutritional aspects of raw materials and their changes in culinary processes.  
  • Give an overview over aesthetics in relation to food, meals and eating.  


Skills 

  • Use techniques for innovation and creativity related to development of new foods and New Product Development (NPD).
  • Apply and integrate components of open innovation processes and business model innovations to analyze companies.
  • Production of prototypes of complex foods, production in pilot scale of complex foods.
  • Consumer tests of complex foods.
  • Reflection upon own development, and ability to see opportunities in innovation, intra- and entrepreneurship.
  • Work systematically in a kitchen development laboratory with chosen experimental techniques and culinary methods. 
  • Communicate in writing the topics in the gastronomic area with regard to innovation in foods.  
  • Integrate aesthetics in relation to food, meals, eating into the development of healthy and palatable foods.
  • Communicate gastronomic concepts to professionals and relevant employers/​purchasers. 


Competences:

  • A scientific approach to food innovation and small scale food production.  
  • Analyze and integrate open innovation and business model concepts, theories and practices to understand how food companies operate and compete in the market.
  • Integrate academic disciplines (food chemistry/physics, sensory science, innovation and nutritional aspects) to innovation and business development in the food sector. 
  • Use and adapt techniques for characterization of sensory properties and consumer experiences to test foods in various stages of the innovation cycle.  
  • Interdisciplinary cooperation with other students on planning, carrying out and evaluating experiments in relation to new product development of healthy and palatable foods.  
  • Work independently and efficiently together in a group on joint projects.

See Absalon for specific course literature.

For the data analysis in this course you need a laptop with Windows based operating system.

 

Lectures, exercises and project work. The project work results in three outcomes: a new food product; a project report; and a project presentation to project donors.
Students from other educations / MSc programmes that follow the course, should expect an extra workload to familiarize themselves with the necessary parts of the curriculum from the first year of the MSc programme in Food Innovation and Health.
It is recommended to follow the course on the second year of the MSc programme in Food Innovation and Health.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Guidance
  • 20
  • Lectures
  • 15
  • Practical exercises
  • 20
  • Preparation
  • 40
  • Project work
  • 306
  • Theory exercises
  • 10
  • Total
  • 412
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 25 min
Individual oral examination without preparation time in the project report and the course curriculum. The oral examination weights 100%.
Exam registration requirements

Submission of project report

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Re-exam

Possibility to re-submit project report two weeks before the re-examination, otherwise same as ordinary exam.

Criteria for exam assesment

Cf. Learning Outcome.