Aarhus University is a partner in the InnovateFood project within the framework of which scientists and students, together with industry representatives, will try to find solutions to some of the challenges that food companies face in their efforts to produce healthier foods.

InnovateFood takes place in Aarhus from 31 August to 1 September 2017, at the same time as Food Festival, European Food Venture Forum, Aarhus Festival, Aarhus European Capital of Culture 2017 and Better Food for More People.

Customized expert teams to solve challenges

As a starting point InnovateFood will use 12 actual problems formulated by the participating companies. The challenges identified originate from major companies as well as small entrepreneurs, both national and international. The 12 cases will be considered in an open innovation setup in InnovateFood Challenge within the framework of which the challenges will be investigated by an interdisciplinary, customized expert panel consisting of relevant scientists and professionals as well as a student panel.

Head of Department Michelle Williams, Department of Food Science at Aarhus University, explains:

- This is a unique opportunity for scientists and companies to solve actual problems in relation to the development and production of healthy foods. The conference will create a forum for different approaches and perspectives to come together to find sustainable solutions. The companies will achieve access to the most recent, research-based knowledge to be applied in future efforts, and scientists and students will gain an insight into the challenges currently faced by the industry.

Arla is one of the companies to formulate an actual challenge to InnovateFood: the dairy giant wants new input on how to include dairy products in future, sustainable foods. You can read the entire case description here. 

From theory to practice

Students will be special actors in relation to InnovateFood and will constitute one of the panels in the InnovateFood Challenge. This is a great opportunity for students to translate theoretical knowledge to practice and, at the same time, to profile themselves in relation to future employers. 60 student seats are available, and if you are interested in participating in InnovateFood Challenge you may apply here. You may send a general application, or apply to be considered for a specific case that you want to help solve. Application deadline is 31 March, and participation is free for students.

Danish Food Cluster – comprising 140 major and smaller-sized food companies, organizations and universities, including Aarhus University – hosts the event, and InnovateFood partners include (in addition to Aarhus University): Foodjob.dk, the Central Denmark Region, Innovation Fund Denmark, Danish Crown, Arla, VisitAarhus, the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, and Invest in Denmark. 

Further information, please visit: www.innovatefood.dk