IUFoST’s mission includes providing education and training to food scientists and technologists around the world. To that end, IUFoST is committed to improving the knowledge of people working in the food industry and using web-based technologies to distribute knowledge of food science and technology.
Distance Education is a key component and includes the following action areas:
- Develop training programs for professional continuing education,
- Identify resources for use in teaching food science and technology.
For the Distance-Assisted Training Program (DATP), the entire set of courses are now available for use, and course instructors may access and use the courses for training people working in the food industry who do not have adequate education/training exposure to food science and technology.
IUFoST encourages links to teaching materials from other organisations, including the FAO, on topics like meat processing, fish processing, baking, milk products processing, etc. Please contact the Executive Director of IUFoST with information.
The IUFoST Distance Education Task Force recruited word-wide scientists as course developers including Gordon Robertson, Lucia Anelich, Delia-Rodriguez-Amaya, Walter Spiess, Paul Singh, Don Mercer, and Purwiyatno Hariyadi. In addition, several courses were developed by the Southern African Development Consortium (SADC) and are incorporated into the courses offered through the IUFoST website.
Method of Delivery
The training materials are designed to be delivered within a specified timeframe through a local course instructor who has identified local participants. Each course has a mentor who serves as a resource for the course instructor.
The course instructor reviews progress toward completion with the participant, administers the assignments, including grading the assignments, and meets with the participants under his or her guidance on a regular basis. Once the course is completed by the participant to the satisfaction of the course instructor, IUFoST issues a certificate of completion to the participant.
