Many of our science courses use work projects as teaching tools. This gives the students experience working in teams, working with companies big, medium or small and providing them with insights into the realities of business. It gives businesses access to scientific or technical skills in an accessible way.
Here's one example:
FOSC311 is a project-based course in Food Science. Students work in small teams with a business to tackle a project of the business's choosing. The students work with the business all year, bringing a range of skills to bear in a cross-disciplinary team that could include marketing and consumer majors as well as product development and food safety skills.
The benefits to the businesses are
- working with students and tapping into their creativity and enthusiasm
- access to the breadth of the university's scientific research resources
- feasibility assessment of ideas (technical, financial and marketing)
- turn innovative concepts into early product prototypes
- shelf life stability and food safety assessment
- sensory and consumer acceptance testing
If you'd like a Food Science project based in your business, contact Erin Young in the Department of Food Science:
Email erin.young@otago.ac.nz