Industry launch for UK's first food engineering degree

Representatives from food and drink companies across the country will meet in Sheffield next week to launch the UK’s first accredited food and drink engineering degree, which will be offered exclusively at Sheffield Hallam University.

The Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, David Heath MP will give the keynote speech at a special launch event which takes place on 7 February at the Mercure Sheffield St Paul’s Hotel.

The course is the first degree dedicated entirely to the needs of food and drink manufacturing, and first entrants onto the four-year MEng Food Engineering programme will begin in September 2014.  They will be qualified to Masters Level upon completion.

Companies attending the launch will be given an insight into the new degree and find out how they can get involved. A key feature of the course will be work placements at food and drink companies to provide students with much sought after employment skills and experience. 

Several leading food and drink companies have already signed up to take students and to offer other forms of support. Companies supporting the degree so far are: ABF, apetito, Arla Foods, Burton’s Biscuit Company, Cargill, Dalehead Foods, Finsbury Foods, General Mills, Mars, McCains Foods, Mondelez, Nestlé, Pork Farms, Premier Foods, United Biscuits, Warburtons and the William Jackson Food Group.

The project to create the degree is being delivered through a partnership of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), The National Skills Academy for Food & Drink and SheffieldHallam.  Co-investment has come from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills through the Employer Investment Fund.

Dr Martin Howarth, Head of Engineering and Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam said: "This project builds on our strong track record of providing excellent engineering education in partnership with leading industrial employers."

For press information: contact Rebecca Wilhelm at FDF on 020 7420 7140, or Ally Mogg in the University’s press office on 0114 225 4025 or email pressoffice@shu.ac.uk