Aims:
Students will develop academic skills for successful completion of Level 4 and progression to further undergraduate study, and skills for lifelong learning.  These skills will be applied to a live brief relevant to their sector

Indicative content:

• Understand the importance of academic research and referencing.
• Learn to effectively read, analyse, evaluate and synthesise academic literature.
• Apply the development of study skills to academic report and essay writing.
• Engage with an external organisation and apply research and analytical skill development to identify and articulate solutions to a current organisational challenge.
• Practice and develop verbal and digital communication skills.
• Identify and act upon development needs and recognise progress.
• Undertake and reflect upon a range of study skills activities.

Aim:

This module aims to introduce students to the food business landscape including the key commercial drivers in food production, supply and retail to enable them to make informed food business management decisions. 

Indicative content:

Module content may vary in response to the changing food business landscape but could include:

• The nature of and interrelationship between food businesses; the role of the consumer.
• The food business environment; PESTLE; Porter’s Five Forces; Ansoff Matrix; external and internal drivers; building sustainable and responsible food businesses.
• The commercial basis of decision making in food business; adding value (social, environmental, economic factors…); Management accounting; financial accounting and reporting.
• Relevant Food related data sources and databases; handling, interpretation, manipulation and presentation of relevant data.
• Food marketing theory; CSR; Customer and public relations; Advertising and sales; Social media.

Aim:

This multidisciplinary module draws from nutrition, public health, consumer research, marketing, food supply chain and environmental studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of food choices and their impact on people and planet from a local, national and global perspective.

Indicative content:

• Effects of diet and lifestyle on the health of people and planet, incorporating nutrition, food sustainability, ethics, choice, as well as policy/governance at a local, national, and international level
• In general: coverage of a diverse range of topics to give students critical insights into consumer behaviour along with socio-cultural research, to examine food and food practices
• Determinants of food choices and social norms (may include but not limited to exploring validated food choice scales such as food choice motives, food neophobia, meat attachment, food naturalness perception etc).
• Needs assessment, behaviour change theory, and intervention approaches
• Exploration of issues pertaining to food choice in the context of health, well-being and core functions of public health: health protection, health promotion and health improvement
• Population level dietary assessment, nutritional requirements and dietary reference values
• Food and planet: life cycle analysis, carbon footprint, food miles, water miles, deforestation and population displacement
• Food systems in the global context of the UN sustainable development goals
• Food systems in the context of local food chains
• Food packaging and planet

Aim:

This module aims to introduce students to the micro/macronutrients, non-nutrients, anti-nutrients and their functions both in cooking and food production relating to metabolic demand. This will lead into an applied understanding of food borne illness and its control both domestically and commercially.

Indicative content:

• To increase knowledge of food composition including macronutrients (including alcohol) and micronutrients, non-nutrients and anti-nutrients.
• To understand the underpinning principles behind nutrient quantification.
• To develop an awareness and appreciation of ingredients; including developing practical and technical skills involved in food preparation and food processing.
• To understand desirable and undesirable nutrient composition changes occurring during food preparation and food processing.
• To identify the main contributing factors of foodborne illness, in particular microbial pathogens and explain how they can be controlled.
• Understand the basic principles of food risk assessment and HACCP including hazards and their controls for physical, biological, chemical and allergen risks.
• Develop an appreciation for the importance of food safety culture in a manufacturing environment.
• Analyse and interpret food safety result data in relation to current regulations e.g. Micro Criteria.

Aim:

The aim of this module is to enhance the students’ critical  approach in understanding how nutrition policy, strategy and initiatives can be applied to influence population health outcomes from a UK and international perspective.

Indicative content:

• Dietary reference values
• UK and International food based dietary guidelines and government messages for healthy eating
• Examples of food and nutrition policy and legislation in the UK and internationally e.g.
  • Infant feeding, breastfeeding campaigns
  • school food & school meals, change 4 life, Better Health, vit D supplementation, care-home guidelines, elderly, hospital food
  • Food labelling, allergens
• Theory of public health and health promotion strategies for optimising population health outcomes e.g. needs assessment, monitoring, evaluation, funding and commissioning
• Use of nutritional analysis software

Aim:

To understand the various stages of the product development process by actively engaging in industry based learning activities in order to support students' understanding of the process and in the concept creation of an innovative new product, in response to a commercial brief.

Indicative content:

• Role of new product development and contemporary issues
• Stages of the product development process
• Interpretation of a commercial brief to generate new product opportunities
• Research and analysis of market data and consumer trends
• Undertaking a category review and analysis
• Sensory analysis and product quality attributes
• Appreciation of commercial considerations and implications
• Generation of relevant technical information that would contribute to the product specification and legal labelling aspects of the product

Aims: 

The aim of this module is to provide opportunities for students to prepare for and experience work environment(s) relevant to their sector and reflect on and hone personal and professional skills relevant to graduate employment including legal context, leadership, responsibility and accountability with due consideration of the sector-relevant, policies, procedures and culture. It is expected that the students will undertake the equivalent of 120 hours of work experience and professional development activities to enhance their understanding of the sector and plan their career. 

Indicative content: 

Module content may vary in response to the changing professional landscapes but could include: 

• Process and procedure to support the employment lifecycle 

• Standards of ethics, conduct and performance  

• Training, personal and professional development; emotional intelligence  

• Use of relevant sector-specific digital technologies to support personal and organisational development 

• Leadership, followership and mentorship 

• Managing conflict individuals, teams, and organisations; Managing group dynamics 

• Ethical practice relevant to profession; equality, diversity, inclusivity in the workplace and corporate social responsibility (sector-specific economic, environmental and social value) 

• Understanding organisational culture, human resource management, talent and performance management, managing diversity in organisations, understanding stress and building resilience, employee wellbeing and developing empathy 

• Highly skilled employment opportunities which could include work experience and/or an enterprise residency 

• Identifying enterprise opportunities and responding to those  

• Engaging with external CPD and PSRB opportunities 

• Maximising exposure to the world of work and professionals through site visits, field trips, attendance to professional conferences and engaging with guest speakers 

• Undertaking volunteering work 

• Engaging with career fairs and assessment centres 

Module aim:

The module aims to develop the students' understanding of the purpose and principles of food processing unit operations; developments in sustainable food manufacturing operations and the role of packaging in managing and controlling product quality and safety.

Indicative content:

• To understand the underlying scientific and technological principles and modes of application of traditional and more modern food processing operations.

• To appreciate the commercial decisions that need to be considered regarding environmental and sustainability issues influencing the choice of food preservation application adopted.
• To identify key quality and food safety control points within manufacturing operations including the selection of appropriate packaging to maximise shelf life whilst addressing environmental and sustainability issues.
• To develop understanding and practical skills of operating pilot plant processing equipment, and selection of appropriate analytical test methods for assessing product safety and quality.

Aim:

This module aims to equip students with a sound working understanding of research methods and methodologies relevant to food and nutrition to enable them to undertake and report on a piece of independent food/ nutrition research in a professional and ethical manner.

Indicative content:

The module experience may vary dependent on the chosen project area and/ or the students’ course/ discipline but could include;

• Food and Nutrition research methodologies, discipline areas, perspectives and study design
• Using published evidence with due consideration of quality relevant to the discipline
• The ethics of investigation; Ethical research practice and governance; Intellectual property
• Safe working practice; Risk assessment
• Exploration and debate of published Food/ Nutrition research
• Food and Nutrition research methods including relevant practical techniques; Strengths and limitations of Food/ Nutrition research methods
• Qualitative and quantitative research practice
• Data analysis, interpretation and presentation 

Aim

Students will take a practical and applied ‘consultancy’ approach, developing and presenting solutions to real-world food/ nutrition challenges on behalf of a real client. This can alternatively be undertaken as part of an enterprise residency where students develop their own venture.  

Indicative content:

Students will be given distinct opportunities to develop a suite of essential skills which could include those listed below but may change depending on the client brief and from year to year:

• communication skills for different purposes in the food and nutrition sector (such as pitching ideas, established behaviour change techniques, the ability to respond to client feedback)
• project management skills (such as time and team management, leadership, consideration of professional and ethical responsibilities, commercial viability, interprofessional working)
• evaluation tools and techniques suitable for food or nutrition sector projects (such as needs assessment, benchmarking, costing, formal evaluation)
• personal and professional reflective skills (potentially in a format appropriate for the student’s chosen profession)
• confidence, creativity, adaptability and resilience in order to be career ready

Aim:

To develop students’ knowledge and understanding of contemporary and developing issues in the practice of managing the safety, authenticity and quality in the global commercial food manufacturing sector.

Indicative content:

Food supply chain regulation and control is an integration of science, technology and management with the overall aim of enhancing the quality and safety of food and ensuring its authenticity.

• Identifying and managing new and emerging food safety threats, the management of business operations such as traceability, process efficiency, logistics and environmental impact
• Principles and concepts of food safety (legislation and environmental monitoring)
• Issues relating to food quality (terminology and management systems)
• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point systems (HACCP) - development, implementation and review within the food industry