Thesis
Full course description
The internship ((HFV2003) and thesis (HFV2004) are intertwined. At the final stage of the HFIM master students fulfill an internship lasting 6 months with the aim to implement research related to a health-food-innovation relevant question, write a Master thesis on the outcome and orally defend this thesis. The internship can take place at Maastricht University, but also at another University, a knowledge center or NGO or even at a company. Given the multi- and inter-disciplinary content of the MSc program, students must conduct research in at least one of the 4 key areas in the Master Program: 1) Biomedical aspects, 2) Consumer sciences, 3) Entrepreneurship / new ventures / business, 4) Food law/regulations. As such, an integrated approach is being chosen aiming at both carrying out research in a specific area and mirroring the outcome in the light of a potential development route/market implementation in which questions related to the consumer, regulatory allowance and value proposition play an important role.
Course objectives
Knowledge and understanding
- A broad understanding of the concepts (1 of the 4 key domains) of healthy eating
- Knowledge on food ingredient classes, such as carbohydrates, fibers, lipids, proteins, antioxidants and bioactives
- Insights in research methods in health food innovation
Application of knowledge and understanding
- Read, interpret and translate scientific data into short “laymen” information
- Translate scientific data to industrially relevant input and concepts
Judgment
- Critical evaluation of the scientific literature in terms of ranking of the degree of evidence based on the design and methodology of the clinical studies, drawing conclusions
- Critical assessment of practical problems (and their solutions) that relate to doing food innovation.
Communication
- Capable to communicate scientific information in a non-scientific environment, to the general population and its sub-populations
- Able to report scientific study results in an understandable way in writing
- Able to discuss opportunities and plans for food related opportunities with scientists, IP experts, marketeers, food engineers and/or investors
Skills
- Understanding the basics required for the implementation, execution and coordinating of scientific research
- Capable of keeping up to date with scientific literature (internet-based tools)
- Is able to learn from own (eg negative experiences and failures) and team performance