Course content

There are many expectations to our future food systems. They need to be more sustainable than today, and innovation will be a part of that. The food industry is Norway's second largest industry regulated by a comprehensive framework regulatory, socially and economically. The students will through this course gain knowledge about what frames influences the food business on a regional, national and global basis and lean to deal with them. The students will meet a diversity of specific actors important for the food industry both those setting the framework and also those that are affected by them. That will bring in different perspectives and be a basis for analysis and reflection on the importance of the frameworks. The student will contribute to the dialogue within food policies through a series of digital classrooms with actors in the EU-system (EU Commission, European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, and the Norwegian Delegation to EU and more). Further, the students will contribute to the dialogue with regional food actors under the umbrella sustainable food systems. They will learn to gain insight from different perspectives and also apply innovation tools to analyze and illustrate framework.

Learning outcome

After finishing this course, the student should be qualified to:

Knowledge:

1. Communicate and discuss how European and national priorities on sustainability affects the framework for food businesses.

2. Explain how the European framework affects the food industry and be able to relate relevant framework to different processes and products.

Skills:

3. Apply innovative tools to gain insight on framework from different perspectives and communicate and visualise complex information

4. Explain the structure in the food policy and international agreements and be able to describe who are the decision makers nationally, in EU and globally and explain how decision processes work on different levels.

General competence:

5. Apply the knowledge obtained in learning outcomes 1-3 to analyse politics, legislation and framework and agreements which affect processes and conditions in the food business.

6. Have acquired insights in the workplace, collaboration and industry network of value for the future workplace.

Learning methods and activities

Excursions, seminars, webinars, workshops and student activities. It will also be possible to get a mentor from the working life. The course will mainly be given in English. If parts are given in Norwegian, the international students will get alternative modules. Estimated workload: Lectures/webinar/video: 50h; Project: 80h; Excursion: 20h; Network meetings: 10h; Self-study: 70h

Compulsory assignments

• Written exercise 1
• Written exercise 2
• Short oral presentation

Recommended previous knowledge

The course is intended for master's students.

Course materials

Reports, articles and presentations.