Manufacturing & Supply Chain

FoodTech Challenge is a brand new feature which will be presented at FoodTech 2014, the food industry’s largest trade fair in Northern Europe taking place from 28-30 October in MCH Messecenter Herning, Denmark.

FoodTech Challenge is an open innovation competition that will be arranged as a three-day workshop during FoodTech 2014. The participants are all hand-picked students, who will be divided into five teams and will work on specific cases in a controlled process.

The aim of the FoodTech Challenge is to bring the corporate world and the educational establishment together in an innovative way, to show examples of concept and product development and to place all this into commercial context after a new model developed by Aarhus University, Denmark. The exhibitors at the trade fair will also be included in the challenge, as the students will have the chance to turn to the exhibitors to draw on relevant competencies and networks.

The students are recruited by the Danish recruitment agency foodjob.dk through a thorough selection process, which ensures that the five teams will be put together according to which competencies best match the set assignments. Thus, the competition will also demonstrate that the Danish universities are able to work together across educational backgrounds.

So far, three of the five cases are in place, thanks to well-established companies positioned as global market leaders within their line of business. These companies will put resources, knowledge and network at the students’ disposal. The three companies are:

– Arla Foods who will create a global portfolio of healthy dairy products, and this pose a challenge within both development, production/logistics and marketing, when the focus is on distant markets.

– Barry Callebaut who will focus attention on product development, production and marketing adapted to the Scandinavian market.

– DuPont Nutrition Bioscienses Aps who will focus on the intelligent use of ingredients to increase the quantity and availability of sustainable food worldwide.

Damstahl is the main sponsor. “We decided to support the FoodTech Challenge because the initiative focuses attention on the need for a closer cooperation between the food industry and the research and educational institutions; and thereby contribute to maintaining knowledge and competencies – and jobs – in Denmark. In addition, the intentions of the FoodTech Challenge match very well with the values that form the basis of our company,” states CEO Mikael Sthaalros, Damstahl.

For further information visit foodtech.dk.