Food & Beverage Experts: the range of university courses is expanding in collaboration with businesses
Alongside the introduction of new degree programmes, there has been an increase in collaborations between universities and companies in the sector, from BF to Cremonini, and from Inalpi to Carlsberg
Key points
The range of food-related training programmes is expanding, with new undergraduate degrees, executive master’s programmes and partnerships with businesses. This trend involves both the launch of brand-new university programmes and the strengthening of alliances between universities and companies, which are increasingly choosing to train staff themselves in specialised skills that are not readily available on the labour market.
Unisg: new degree programmes for new professional roles
The University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo has developed a range of food-related programmes at various levels. Alongside the Master’s Degree in Food Industry Management, a two-year programme taught in English comprising 120 credits and offering the option of a double degree with the University of Italian Switzerland, the Bachelor’s Degree in Food Tech for Ecological Transition will be introduced from the 2026–2027 academic year-2027, the Bachelor’s Degree in Food Tech for Ecological Transition, developed in collaboration with the Turin Polytechnic and delivered across the Pollenzo and Turin campuses, with a maximum of 110 students per year. The university also offers the Master’s Degree in Food & Planetary Health, developed in collaboration with the University of Turin and Maastricht University on nutrition, health and sustainability, and the Executive Master’s in Food Medicine, a six-month programme in Italian aimed at doctors and healthcare professionals, starting in November.
Between Parma and Milan: 360-degree tours
In Emilia-Romagna, the model of partnerships between universities and businesses was consolidated in April 2025 with the launch in Parma of Fooder – the Food University of Emilia-Romagna, an association with 18 founding members, including all the universities in Emilia-Romagna, companies such as Barilla and the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium. The project will receive a regional grant of three million euros and co-funding from the universities totalling 1.5 million for the period 2022–2026, with the aim of developing international courses and inter-university master’s programmes taught in English.
Along the same lines is the agreement signed in March 2026 between the Politecnico di Milano and the University of Parma, which has led POLI.design to launch new intakes of the Master’s in Design for Food and thematic executive courses from the 2026–2027 academic year, according to the University of Parma.
BF launches a PhD programme in the agri-food sector
A few days ago, BF Spa presented, in Jolanda di Savoia (Ferrara), Iasa – Institute of Advanced Science for Agriculture, the first international doctoral school dedicated to agri-food systems , with the status of a Higher University School under Special Regulations, established by the Ministry of Universities and Research and promoted by the agro-industrial group on its own farm covering over 5,000 hectares.
