Master Agrofood Chain Degree awarded: Master of Science Duration - - PDF document

Master Agrofood Chain

• Degree awarded: Master of Science
• Duration and number of European credits: 2 year Master program / 120 ECTS credits earned (30 ECTS

by semester)

• Website: https://toulouseagricampus.fr/Formation/Formation-initiale/Master-AgroFood-Chain
• Contact: most_agrofoodchain @ univ-toulouse.fr
• Keywords: Agrofood chain, agriculture, food industry, innovation, sustainability, agroecology, multidisciplinary,

agronomy, agricultural economics, ecology, food safety.

• Institutions delivering the degree: Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l’Enseignement Agricole,

Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse.

• Partners and staff: Toulouse Agricampus, INP-ENSAT, INP-ENSIACET, ENVT, INRA, INSA, Université

Paul Sabatier. The Master Agrofood Chain staff is composed of : a secretary, faculty members and researchers of the partner institutions, invited professors and researcchers from international universities and research institutions, and professionals from the agricultural and food sectors.

• The objective of the Master program

The objective of the Agrofood Chain program is to create awareness of the scientific, social and economic realities

• f the modern agricultural and food industries and to provide scientific and practical training in an international
• context. The MAFC program is a two-year master program, entirely taught in English, with a multidisciplinary and

custom-made program based on excellence in teaching and research. To meet this objective and also to ensure the employability of our graduates, the courses are designed to develop specific knowledge about innovative and sustainable agriculture and food industry. They are articulated around three core disciplines : agronomy, economics and ecology. In order for our graduates to acquire a global and comprehensive vision of the complexity of agrofood chains, these core disciplines are completed by other disciplines, such as plant and animal genetics, biotechnology, product quality, food safety, nutrition and marketing. The main originality and strenght of this program are built upon a multidisciplinary approach, which consists in the integration of all these different disciplines in real-life case studies and tutored projects run individually or by groups.

• Skills developed

The development of sustainable food systems in the current context of demographic, food and ecological transitions raises many challenges. To face these latter, our graduates shall be able to analyse and understand the complexity of the agricultural and food chains, to diagnose problems, and to provide innovative and sustainable

• answers. In addition to in-depth and specific knowledge on issues related to the agricultural and food sectors,

students are also trained to acquire skills necessary to lead research and development projects in an international environment: research and managerial skills (project and team management, research methodology, scientific and corporate communication, computer sciences, applied statistics), as well as diverse social skills (adaptability, creativity, open-mindedness to interculturalism and to fieldwork).

• Job opportunities

The Agrofood Chain program is designed to train future researchers and executives aiming at international careers in either the private or state sectors of agriculture, agrofood, environment and non-food valorisation of agro-

• resources. Researchers in food enterprises and agricultural research institutes, experts for governmental and

international institutions, academics, associates in consulting firms, advisors in cooperatives are examples of job positions hold by former students. After their Master degree, about one-fourth of the students enroll in a Ph.D. program in the areas of agricultural and food sciences.

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• Admission conditions

The Agrofood Chain program recruits high potential and motivated students since the program is non only demanding in terms of integration of knowledge from different disciplines and skills, but also intense in terms of the articulation of theoretical lectures with tutored projects and training periods. The entry requirements are the following:

• For the first year (Master 1): BSc or equivalent after 3 academic years minimum in the fields of plant or

animal biology, agronomy, food science, ecology or agricultural economics.

• For the second year (Master 2): Master 1 Agrofood chain or equivalent degree after 4 academic years

minimum.

• Spoken and written English language requirements: recognized qualifications or tests giving evidence
• f C1 language proficiency. Scores required: TOEIC 701 minimum; IELTS 6.5 minimum; TOEFL paper

580 minimum; TOEFL CBT 237 minimum; TOEFL IBT 92 minimum; Cambridge CAE. Admission decisions: Based on a combination of criteria (academic degrees and performances, motivation letter and possible interviews, proficiency in English, work experience...), decisions of acceptance are taken and pronounced three times a year: end of January, March and May, depending when the complete application form is received.

• Field studies and internship policy

The Agrofood Chain program aims to develop student’s specific knowledge, skills and professional experience through the importance given during the first and second years of the program to, on the one hand, real-life case studies and tutored projects run individually or by small groups, and on the other hand, training periods. For the case studies and tutored projects, students have to do a bibliographical search to formulate the issue of the study and working hypotheses, to collect data through field interviews or experiments, to run data analyses and to communicate the results of the study (oral presentations or written reports and scientific posters). The subjects are related to the development and management of sustainable agrofood chains. Their complexity shall bring students to develop a multidisciplinary approach and diverse skills, including creativity. The exercises are conducted under the supervision of one or several professors. Training periods are dedicated to internships done in agricultural and food enterprises or in research institutes. Students are given the responsibility of conducting a project, which shall prepare them to either continue on a Ph.D. program or find a job. It is the responsibility of the student to find their internship. This latter is done under the supervision of two supervisors, one in the enterprise or in the research lab, and one permanent professor of the Master program. Developing quality products or a quality control process for an enterprise, assessing the sustainability of a rural development project or of an agricultural policy for a state agency, conducting a research project on a specific issue are examples of internships.

• First year (Master 1) : a maximum of two-month training period in April-May.
• Second year (Master 2) : a five to six-month training period from January to June. ¡ ¡

Tuition fees: 9000 €/year or reduced fees of 5000 €/year for partner universities and organisms Scholarship: possible (selection criteria: academic performances, CV and motivations, social criteria) Deadline for application: May 31st For more information about the application procedure, please, contact:

masteragrofoodchain@gmail.com

3 THE MASTER AGROFOOD CHAIN 2-YEAR PROGRAM SEMESTER MODULES Number of ECTS credits First year M1 Semester 1 (Sept – Dec) Discovery of food processing: French wine making 2 Introduction to the analysis of agrofood chains: concepts and methods 4 System analysis, sustainability and case study of an agrofood chain 5 Methodology 3 Fundamentals of agronomy 2 Fundamentals of ecology 2 Fundamentals of economics 2 Fundamentals of molecular biology and food safety 2 Multidisciplinary problem resolution project 4 Communication in English (Level I) 2 Communication in French (Level I) 2 First year M1 Semester 2 (Jan – June) Organization, governance and performances of agrofood chains 4 Rural development and local agrofood chains 4 Agroecology 4 Value enhancement of plant biotic resources 4 Methodology (Level II) and global seminar 4 Communication in English (Level II) 2 Communication in French (Level II) 2 2-month internship in enterprise or research lab / OR / Research essay, in May-June Oral defense first week of July 6 Second year M2 Semester 3 (Sept – Jan) Food safety and the management of risk and uncertainty in agrofood chains 4 Nutrition and sustainable food systems 4 Advanced course in microbiology 3 Advanced course in agroecology 3 Advanced course in agricultural economics 3 Methodology (Level III) 2 Multidisciplinary research project 3 Project management 2 Group tutored project 6 Second year M2 Semester 4 (Feb – July) 5-month internship in enterprise or research lab / OR / Research essay, from beginning of January to end of June Oral defense first week of July 30 TOTAL 120

4 THE MASTER AGROFOOD CHAIN DETAILED PROGRAM FOR EACH SEMESTER M1 - SEMESTER 1 From September to December MODULES CONTENT Discovery

• f

food processing: French wine making Discover wine making process and wine analysis (physical, chemical and organoleptic) Introduction to the analysis of agrofood chains: concepts and methods

• Agrofood chains: definitions, analysis methods and major issues
• Innovation and changes in agrofood chains
• Sustainable agrofood chains: definition and multi-criteria analysis
• Case studies and conferences

Case study of an agrofood chain: System analysis, sustainability and innovation

• Introduction to the analysis of complex systems
• Sustainable development and innovation: from theory to practice
• Group case study of an agrofood chain (visits, data collection and

analysis, oral presentation) Methodology (Level I)

• Office tools and communication skills
• Bibliographical search and data analysis

Fundamentals of agronomy

• A review of major principles of plant and animal sciences
• From the field to the production system: system analysis
• Visits of farms

Fundamentals of ecology

• Ecology and agriculture: an impossible marriage?
• Darwinian agriculture
• Life histories of domesticated organisms
• Agriculture and fragmentation of the habitats
• Biodiversity and/in agriculture
• Successions in agrosystems
• Problem based learning approach, case studies

Fundamentals of economics

• A review of major principles of micro and macro economics
• Fundamentals of agricultural economics
• Case studies of agricultural enterprises and local markets

Fundamentals of molecular biology and food safety

• Gene structure and expression in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
• Knowledge of foodborne hazards (biological and chemical

hazards)

• Molecular techniques for the identification of pathogens in food
• Production of recombinant proteins for the food industry and

insights into risk management and regulatory aspects Multidisciplinary problem resolution project

• The objective here is to train students to develop a

multidisciplinary approach to analyze and solve a real-life complex problem (diffusion of an innovative farming practice, design of a new food production plant, etc.). Students have to address this problem by combining in a consistent manner the different concepts and methods taught in the 4 disciplinary modules “Agronomy / Ecology / Rural Economics / Biotechnology”, and by conducting surveys and field studies. Communication in French (Level I)

• Introduction to French language and culture

Communication in English (Level I

• Academic written and oral communication in English

5 M1 – SEMESTER 2 From January to July MODULE CONTENT Organization, governance and performances of agrofood chains

• The economics of industrial organization and of innovation
• Agroecology and re-conception of agrofood systems
• Agro-environmental policies and territorial governance
• Spatial organization of agrofood chains
• Case studies

Rural development and local agrofood chains

• Rural development: from theory to practice
• The role of quality labeling approach and of local food systems

in rural development

• The European rural development policies
• Case studies

Agroecology

• History, definitions and principles of agroecology
• Agroecological approaches
• Agroecological transition of agrofood chains
• Case studies

Value enhancement of plant biotic resources

• Breeding and biotechnology for crop improvement
• Green chemistry
• Case studies

Methodology (Level II) and global seminar

• Hypotheses testing and data analysis
• Office tools
• Tools for internship and job search (biodata, job interviews, etc.)
• Global seminar: videoconference sessions on different subjects

involving groups of students from 4 to 5 European universities Communication in English (Level II)

• Academic written and oral communication in English

Communication in French (Level II)

• French language and culture

2 month internship in laboratory

• r enterprise / OR / Research

essay

• Two-month internship in May and June. The main objective

here is to discover the professional world and to be initiated to a research project in a laboratory or a research/development in an

• enterprise. The evaluation includes a written report and an oral

presentation on the first week of July.

• Possibility under conditions to write and defend a research essay

under the supervision of a faculty member of ENSFEA or INPT.

6 M2 - SEMESTER 3 From September to January MODULE CONTENT Food safety, risks and uncertainty in agrofood chains Control of foodborne hazards, norms and regulation Microbial ecology and influence of food process on foodborne hazards The HACCP method and application exercise Microbial analysis of foods The role of research in food safety improvement (mycotoxins, EHEC) Nutrition and sustainable food systems

• Nutrition and health related problems
• Urbanization, nutrition transition and their implications for food

supply

• Case studies of sustainable food systems

Advanced course in agroecology

• The emergence and evolution of agroecology: a world perspective
• Case study of agroecological farming projects with field visits
• Toolbox for the case study: participatory processes, complex

system analysis, territorial approaches Advanced course in agricultural economics

• Introduction to the economics of organizations and of

institutions

• Environmental and ecological economics
• The governance of agricultural/environmental/rural policies
• Sustainable development and institutional change
• Case studies

Advanced course in microbiology

• Microbiology

and “Omics” (metagenomics, proteomincs, microbiome, transcriptomics)

• Bacterial community analyses (next-generation sequencing

techniques, fingerprinting)

• Food microbiology (suspicious detection of pathogens, AFNOR

analysis methods) Methodology (Level III)

• Protocol and experimental design
• Data analysis
• Research organization

Multidisciplinary research project

• The objective here is to train students to develop a

multidisciplinary research approach to analyze diverse research issues (determinants

• f

farmers’ adoption

• f

new agroenvironmental practices, water pollution by chemicals, etc.). Students have to address the issue by elaborating a research project (research questions and hypotheses, methodology, research organization, funding sources) Project management

• Integrate project management principles and tools
• Agile project management
• Working in a collective and international setting
• Elaboration of a research proposal

Group tutored project

• The objective here is to train students to manage a project from

the conception phase to the final evaluation phase. Groups of students have to manage a real-life research or industrial project related to agrofood issues by using project management tools.

7 M2 - SEMESTER 4 From February to July MODULE CONTENT 5-month internship in laboratory

• r enterprise / OR / Research

essay

• Five to six-month internship from beginning of February to end
• f June. The main objectives here are, first, to run a research

project in a laboratory or a research/development project in an enterprise, and second, to get prepared for finding a job or entering into a Ph.D. program. The evaluation includes the writing and the oral defense of a Master thesis on the first week of July.

• Possibility under conditions to write and defend a research essay

under the supervision of a faculty member of ENSFEA or INPT.