If you are looking for a Second Cycle Degree Course at the forefront of the modern food sciences, and you want to acquire the ability to face the challenges posed by the modern food systems and learn deep skills in managing the safety of what we eat, we propose to you to become a Food Safety expert. It's possible through a regional course, fully taught in English, offered by a network formed by Universities of Parma, Bologna, Cattolica of Piacenza, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Ferrara. Emilia-Romagna region and, in particular, the Parma District represent an integrated ecosystem of food industries, research centres and public institutions fully dedicated to food (for this reason it's called 'food valley') and is the headquarter of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Foods have a direct impact on human health and well-being. They are the main way in which our body comes into contact with the external environment and with millions of different compounds. It becomes therefore essential for companies, control bodies and research centres to form specific figures dedicated to risk assessment and management of food risks. The Food Safety expert has a knowledge of European legislation in the sector and is linked to the global market, which poses logistical challenges and makes the guarantees on ingredients of the food chain less robust, leading to new safety risks.

As you know, Parma is the capital of the Food Valley, and this course is part of a social, cultural and industrial fabric strongly oriented towards the production of quality food and the development of technological innovation for the food sector.

Quality, safety and sustainability are the keywords of the course lecturers' way of interpreting the world of food.

During your studies, you will be supervised by a highly motivated teaching staff who are experts in the main disciplines required for the study of food (food technology, food microbiology, food chemistry, nutrition and food economics).

The teaching hub, located on the Science and Technology Campus, facilitates the use of laboratories with modern equipment.

There are also numerous interactions with the industrial world and the resulting opportunities to develop internships and dissertations at companies in the sector.

The inter-university, international second cycle degree course in Food Sciences for Innovation and Authenticity, set up collectively by the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano (administrative hub) and the Universities of Udine and Parma and awarding a joint degree.
The course is structured in different profiles, each defined by specific teachings, included in the third semester, which will be taught at the partner universities or at the University College Cork, Ireland, School of Food & Nutritional Sciences, and at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. The first two semesters are held at the Liber University of Bozen/Bolzano, while the fourth semester, dedicated to the final dissertation, takes place at one of the partner universities, at foreign universities or in cooperation between several universities. The degree course is sponsored by the Assoimprenditori Alto Adige Food section, whose partner companies, as well as other companies in Italy and abroad, will host the students for the realization of a thesis jointly developed by the university and the company. The same commitment was made by the Südtiroler Bauernbund farmers' union, among others. Compulsory attendance is not required.

Health, wellbeing and healthy, active ageing are key requirements for ensuring the priority goals of modern Western societies in terms of high quality of life and the sustainability of healthcare systems. Achieving these goals requires a preventive approach other than a strictly clinical one, inevitably involving human nutrition including aspects of food supplements and functional foods.
This Second-cycle Degree Course in Human Nutrition Sciences (Class LM-61) is intended to be a training tool capable of preparing professionals able to respond to the demands of the world of work determined also by the strong development of the market for supplements and functional foods in Italy and worldwide.
In addition to the aspects of appropriate nutrition, the course aims to explore the preparation of products specifically formulated to ensure and promote the health of individuals by reducing the use of drugs.
The course is intended to be a field of specialisation and professional enrichment for graduates with initial multidisciplinary skills that can be acquired in different degree courses, with the aim of training a professional figure who, in addition to the skills of Nutritionist, is able to comprehensively and systematically address the needs of the world of production and services concerning the sector of food products with a high nutritional impact and with health value, as well as to address, at all levels, aspects of research and development, manufacturing and quality control, nutrivigilance, regulation and marketing, also enabling registration with the Order of Biologists, which is necessary to legally entitle the professional to assess the state of nutrition and nutritional needs of humans and to develop and determine optimal diets, with outlets in the catering and nutritional counseling sectors.