How does it feel to be recognised as ‘Member of the Month?’
It came as a big surprise and it is nice to know that the small part you play in the IFST is being recognised.
Why is it important to be a member of a body like IFST?
The IFST is a community of professionals that have similar goals and vision to promote and grow food science and food technology. The IFST can and does provide the voice of the profession that is larger than any single member or speaking alone … it is therefore vital from my point of view to be an active member to give the IFST its voice and message. As a member of the Education and Careers Committee, it is a also a help to know that challenges that I face as an educator are shared ones that can be tackled collectively with the IFST’s support.
You have recently taken over as Head of the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Reading University. What do you see as the biggest challenges currently facing academia?
How long do we have? The single biggest issue is the availability of resource to allow us to invest in our infrastructure for teaching and research in science and technology. It has been a growing challenge to achieve this since the world changed in 2008, and the consequent impacts were felt in terms of government science budgets and the transfer of tuition funding from general taxpayer to individual students. The answer for departments like mine lies mainly in growing the nationwide student population that is studying Food Science and Food Technology at degree level and higher. To do that needs a concerted action of all stakeholders in our profession to promote the opportunities that a university education in food science and technology can unlock.
You were a facilitator at IFST’s Education Forum. What do you see as the major challenge in educating young people for a career in the food industry?
Following the theme of my previous answer, it is about raising awareness of the opportunities in the first place through better educating all young people about what the food industry does, how it contributes to society and the economy, and the role they can play in its future. The IFST has a major role to play in facilitating this. I believe that we need to engage with school curricula to weave in the food industry as an exemplar for the study of science, business, geography, politics, etc. Food touches on every subject and can tie them all together in exciting and meaningful
How do you keep up with the latest food Science and Technology news?
Lots of reading, attending seminars and discussion with colleagues … Meetings like the IFST Spring Conference are a big help to keep up to date.
Tell us something about yourself that most people won’t know…
This is the trickiest question of the lot … I guess a lot of people don’t know that I am a fairly decent juggler (of balls, rings, clubs – not work tasks!). This is a skill I developed when I was supposed to be revising for exams in my youth!
