To start the day off on a good note, everyone gathered for a light breakfast, followed by an introduction to what was to come for the day. Cohort 10 students made flash presentations to the attendees, to show just a part of their master’s thesis. The presentations were divided according to the universities at which each student had completed their thesis. Starting with the Food Design Engineering students from AgroParisTech and followed by Healthy Food Design from UNINA and Food Packaging and Logistics from Lund University.

The first session was introduced by Marwen Moussa (AgroParisTech, France) and an amusing keynote regarding Ecodesign and Ecoinnovation towards Sustainable Food Systems by Caroline Pénicaud from INRAE, France. Mrs. Pénicaud presented an amusing example that compared the environmental impact of pizzas with different ingredients and processes. For this study, sensory, nutritional and economic aspects were taken into account and an optimal formulation and process for the pizzas was proposed. After this, the Food Design Engineering students from AgroParisTech started with their fascinating Master thesis Flash presentations.

After a short coffee break, session 2 was introduced by Paola Vitaglione (UNINA, Italy) and an impressive keynote by Paolo Arancio from Ferrero, Luxembourg. Mr. Arancio captivated the attention of the whole audience with his presentation about the history of the Ferrero Company, its products and its drive for constant improvement. The presentation also raised controversial questions from the audience about how healthy the company’s products are. In response to this question, Mr. Arancio explained that Ferrero’s products emerged after World War II. At that time people required high-calorie food products that would bring them happiness and satisfaction. Although times and needs have changed, their products have remained with these same characteristics, but he assured that they kept innovating to give the best quality products to their consumers. This was followed by the Master thesis flash presentations of the Healthy Food Design students of UNINA, Italy.

Session 3 consisted of a Q&A Segment, in which students from the FIPDA Steering Committee (FIPDes Alumni from prior cohorts) spoke about their career paths beyond FIPDes. The experiences recounted by these students fostered curiosity among different FIPDes cohorts and was a very refreshing and inspiring chat for the entire audience. From being part of a multi-continental company, a start-up or pursuing a PhD, the opportunities are endless thanks to the doors that can be opened with the FIPDes programme.

After this first part of the day, came the most anticipated time for many, the lunch break! FIPDes Day is also famous for the delicious dishes specially selected for the students and guests of the event! This part of the day also allowed for a first informal socializing among the cohorts, opening spaces for conversation and discussion about the different projects.

With full stomachs, the fourth session of the day began, introduced by Erik Andersson, from the University of Lund, Sweden. The keynote for this session was presented by Giana Carli Lorenzini from the Technical University of Denmark with the title: “Who are we packing for? Unveiling end-user perspectives on packaging innovation design”. Ms. Lorenzini’s presentation was very entertaining, as she invited the audience on several occasions to reflect and participate with questions about packaging. Subsequently, she showed her astounding study about bottles and packages used for medicines for the elderly. In this study, several elders were asked to take pictures of their medication packages accompanied by notes about their experiences reaching the medicine. As a result, most of the patients had difficulty opening their medicine bottles and even needed external tools to do so. This left many wondering, especially those students interested in specializing in packaging. After this brilliant keynote, the Packaging-specialized students from the University of Lund, Sweden held their Flash Master thesis presentations.

In session 5, Ana Cruickshank, from TU Dublin introduced the last topic, handling Culinary Innovation and New Product Development. The keynote for this segment was given by Shay Hannon, National Prepared Consumer Food Centre Manager from Teagasc, Ireland. Mr. Hannon spoke about Innovation and Hybrid products in the Food Industry. This was also a remarkable Keynote, especially for those interested in meat from alternative sources or plant-based meat.

After this, awards were given to the students with the best flash presentation, the best FIPDes picture and the best scientific poster. This was the icing on the cake, in conjunction with a final cocktail, in which the graduating students invited interested attendees to learn more about their projects with their respective scientific posters. The FIPDes day concluded fantastically, with an atmosphere of satisfaction, inspiration and gratitude and a great opportunity for networking as well as to celebrate the final presentations of cohort 10. Until next year cohort 11!

Constanza Caballero, Mexico, cohort 12

Pictures by Bastien Crouts de Paille

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