Food Engineering and Biotechnology

Food Engineering and Biotechnology at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano trains a new generation of globally renowned researchers to apply
approaches of engineering and biotechnology to food processing by giving
them the opportunities to transfer and exchange knowledge with national
and international research centers and industries.

Food Engineering and Biotechnology at Free University of Bozen-Bolzano mainly focuses on research concerning primary food production, set-up, and management, as well as the validation of food processes, and the application of omics techniques to condition and characterize food processing and food products, with a particular emphasis on fermented foods. The main features of the PhD are an interdisciplinary scientific approach and the participation of internationally renowned scientists on the Scientific Committee.

Key facts

If you have excelled in higher education, this PhD will enable you to continue your career in academia in a stimulating, multilingual environment with fellow researchers from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. During the course, you will gain the competences required to carry out innovative and methodologically rigorous and advanced research projects. For this purpose, you will be required to design an original research project under the supervision of an Italian and/or foreign lecturer, to spend at least six months at a renowned foreign research center and, concurrently, to develop the ability to work both independently and in a team.

This International PhD opens up several career opportunities. Once you obtain your doctorate, you will be able to continue your research activities in academia, in public or private research centers, in leading food industries, or as a business consultant within the specific research areas of the program.

The PhD covers the research areas of Food Processing as one of the focuses of the faculty. Engineering and Biotechnology are the high throughput approaches to food processing science. Upon acceptance into the program after a public selection procedure, you will be required to design a research project and write a prospectus with your supervisor, including the purpose of your project and the steps necessary to implement it. Your stay for at least three months at a foreign research center is mandatory and you will be required to publish or submit for publication at least three articles in international peer-reviewed journals. 

Courses include:

• Theory of Scientific Method

• Chemometric approaches to study the chemical and sensory markers of food processing

• Materials and sensors for Food Engineering and Biotechnologies