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Food Production Management Masters (MSc)
Duration:
1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Course Content
The MSc Food Production Management will enable you to acquire a basic knowledge of the special factors associated with food processing and food quality assurance.
It will also equip you with the management skills that will allow you to make a contribution to this industry in both the developed and developing worlds.
Modules taken on this course can be viewed below. Compulsory modules are:
- Research Project
- Introduction to Managing Operations
- Core Competences in Food Production Management
- Food Factory Designs and Operations
- Food and Factory Design
- Supply Chain Management in Practice
- Preservation, Quality and Manufacture of Food
Please note that all module details are subject to change. More details of modules can be found on the School's web pages.
Over the summer period towards the end of the course, you will undertake a 60-credit research project in a subject related to Food Production Management. This is an opportunity to complete a major piece of independent research under the supervision of a suitably experienced member of academic staff.
Most projects are carried out in conjunction with the food industry – this can be either within the University or working within a company. Your project may involve practical work or be survey or literature-based.
A placement within a company will generally only be sought if you obtain a mark of at least 55 per cent during the first semester.
The project will provide an insight into the scientific principles of food production processes or the application of modern management techniques to food manufacture.
Course Structure
The MSc Food Production Management is delivered on a full-time basis over one year or part-time over two years. The course normally commences at the beginning of October.
The course comprises 180 credits, split across 120 credits’ worth of core and optional modules and a 60-credit research project completed towards the end of the course.
Assessment methods vary across the modules but typically consist of a combination of:
- Written examinations at the end of the appropriate semester associated with the lecture-based modules
- Formal coursework assignments associated with the lecture modules
- Research project
- A viva voce examination
You will be expected to take full responsibility for your project schedule but will receive assistance and advice from academics within the two Divisions running the course and / or an industrial sponsor. You will submit your dissertation at the end of your placement period.
To progress to the project component of the course, you must have an average mark from the two taught semesters of at least 50 per cent with no more than 20 credits requiring reassessment.
We also offer a Postgraduate Diploma in Food Production Management, which has the same taught modules as the MSc but does not include a project module.
Modules
This module will involve the completion of a either laboratory or pilot plant based project, or will involve a survey of a particular aspect of a food production process. Many projects will involve collaboration with the food industry.
This module introduces to the importance of, and the processes involved in, the commercial exploitation of science and technology and involves a creative approach to the generation of a business concept. The development of a business idea forms an integral part of the students managed learning.
This module ensures that the core knowledge required for the Master’s course in Food Production Management is available to students with different scientific backgrounds. As such it will consider: • Appropriate use of data and statistics for quality management • Hygiene requirements within food factories • General laboratory skills • Written documentation used in food manufacture • Knowledge and use of appropriate terminology used in the manufacture of foods • An understanding and appropriate use of HACCP• Recognition of the key compounds used in food production
The theory and practical aspects of new product development will be investigated. Students, working in groups, will create a food product to a given specification. Products will be tested against the specification, including microbial safety. The manufacturing facilities will be described in terms of people, facilities, capitol equipment, packaging and storage of raw and final product.
The influence of hygiene, quality and legislation on the manufacture of food will be addressed in terms of the factory scale. Design and layout of factories for low and high risk foods will be explained with examples of Good Manufacturing Practice. Cleaning practices will be explained in terms of theory and in practical sessions using commercial cleaning equipment. The provision of services like steam and water (of the required quality) will be explained along with automation, particularly control using feedback loops. The legal constraints on food producers will be explained with reference to English and EC law, with input from enforcers (e.g. Environmental Health Officers and Trading Standard Officers) and related professionals.
Unit operations, that are typically used in food production, will be studied in terms of the theory of their operation and how they are applied for different commodities.
The application of all these principles will be illustrated by factory and other appropriate visits.
Human aspects of work systems. Human-centred systems design. Motivation and job satisfaction. Job design. team working, team design, virtual teams. Quality of working life. Implementation of change; participation in design, implementation. Selection, training. Shiftwork. Evaluation of change
Definitions and classifications of projects. Objectives in project management - time, costs, quality. Resources and resource management. Critical Path Methods and resource scheduling. Performance measurement and costs. Project lifecycles. Project teams and leadership in project management. Managing risk in projects. Analysis of project successes and failures. Project Management software.
Within this module students will gather specific information for a given topic through attendance of recommended lectures and from given written or video material. This information will be supplemented though students seeking additional key information on the topic. The students’ ability to have indentified and understood the relevant information for the subject will be tested by the answering, within a specific timeframe, knowledge based questions on the given topic. Answering written questions, providing a presentation and attending an interview will be used to assess learning.
Students will choose 5 subject areas from a probable 15 available in the course of the module. The topics will range for production methods of some commodities (e.g. ready to eat breakfast cereals, meat analogues), food raw materials (vegetable storage, herbs) and methods of assessment (sensory identification, imitative texture assessment) etc.
Through problem-based learning (PBL) students will develop skills in diagnosing and solving challenges/problems relating to the manufacture, distribution and/or storage of food products. Students will gather relevant information, synthesise an argument, and disseminate a recommendation/solution. No formal lectures given, but the students will be directed to appropriate literature and sources of information necessary for the successful completion of the task in the time available. PBL Definition: ‘The learning which results from the process of working towards the understanding of, or resolution of, a problem’ - it is not just ‘solving problems’. The most powerful learning comes when a student is dealing with uncertainty. Students need to acquire the process skills not just ‘content’, therefore they all have to participate. Students will work on a number of topics in relation to food production.
Through problem-based learning (PBL) students will develop skills in diagnosing and solving challenges/problems relating to the manufacture, distribution, personal development and/or storage of food products. Students will gather relevant information, synthesise an argument, summarise key issues and disseminate a recommendation/solution. Students will be directed to appropriate literature and sources of information necessary for the successful completion of the task in the time available. PBL Definition: ‘The learning which results from the process of working towards the understanding of, or resolution of, a problem’ - it is not just ‘solving problems’. The most powerful learning comes when a student is dealing with uncertainty. Students need to acquire the process skills not just ‘content’, therefore they all have to participate. Students will work on a selection of topics in relation to food production.
Food manufacture will be covered from raw material quality, through formulation and process engineering and packaging. There will emphasis on chemical and manufacturing processes to ensure foods are safe and shelf stable. Statistical process control and methods to follow and measure quality will be taught. Optimising physical and chemical changes to achieve consistent quality in a food product is facilitated by an understanding of the biochemistry/chemistry of the raw materials, an appreciation of their physical interactions and chemical reactions during processing, and a familiarity with the process conditions (temperature; pH etc.) that can be varied to effect changes. Maximising shelf life through selective use of approved preservatives, packaging, and/or the imposition of parameters in the final product such as low water activity or pH values will also be explored.
- The biochemical origin of flavours
- The key chemical pathways for thermal flavour generation (Maillard, caramelisation)
- The release of flavours from foods during eating
- The interaction of flavours with the sensors in the mouth and nose. Flavour legislation. Flavour analysis. Flavour formulation.
The course will cover fundamentals of hydrocolloid structure (linear polysaccharides, starch, proteins), hydrocolloids as thickeners (molecular size determination, principles of rheology, viscosity of individual hydrocolloids, starch and proteins), hydrocolloid gelation (fundamentals, gel rheology, visualisation of gel structure, thermal and spectroscopic methods for monitoring gel structure), hydrocolloid interactions (phase separation, synergism, hydrocolloids in emulsions, hydrocolloid flavour interactions), applications of hydrocolloids (food, pharmaceutical, and personal care products). These will be covered in lectures and supported by directed student centred learning.
The course covers a series of business and legal topics that are directly relevant to those working with food materials on a management level. Each topic is introduced through the delivery of tradition lectures, podcasts, videoed lectures or directed reading of the subject matter. A scenario is then given to the students as a problem based learning exercise where they utilise information to answer a posed question. Topics covered may include: lean management techniques; traceability; law and food: international aspects; marketing strategies; business planning; production planning; health and safety; personal development. Topics covered in the course will be grouped into three themed areas. Assessment will consist of providing a form or outline that, with accompanying commentary, requires to be filled in or created.
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