NZIFST Conference 2018
On Thursday 5th July, the Riddet Institute had a morning presentation session at the New Zealand Institute for Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) Conference 2018 held from 3rd – 5th July in Hamilton. Three of our PhD students who presented their research recount their experience at the conference:
The NZIFST conference was a real blend of science and industry, with particular focus on effective communication to give confidence to the consumer. The Riddet Institute section gave delegates a good insight into four projects from very different parts of the Riddet Institute research program. The fact that the questions I faced came from both scientists and industry representatives shows what a good platform this conference is for demonstrating our science to a wider audience.
– Nick Smith, PhD student (AgResearch and Massey University)
The NZIFST conference was quite good, more than 400 people attended, and a few companies had a stand. It covered everything related to food, from the sensory science to the packaging. One of the last key speakers gave a talk on the future of food, and how to merge different services and way of delivering the food, to reach the customers. That was giving some perspective to it, I enjoyed this talk. Our session gave a bit of an overview of what the Riddet Institute does: talking about nutrition, the gut, functional food, and food materials.
– Sarah Priour, PhD student (Massey University and Fonterra)
The NZIFST conference is an event where both industry and academia come together to share their knowledge and network and thus, it was an excellent opportunity to keep myself updated with the latest trends and contributions from New Zealand in the fields of food science and to network with peers working in the similar field. The Riddet Institute presentation session provided me a platform to share an overview of my PhD research and discuss some of the findings related to rheological properties of bovine and non-bovine milks (goat, sheep, buffalo and deer) with academia, industry and interested or curious people. It was a wonderful opportunity in terms of both sharing and gaining knowledge about the multidisciplinary work that is ongoing to explore non-bovine milks, which was an insightful experience for a PhD student like me who is working in the similar field.
– Debashree Roy, PhD student (Massey University)
The conference was an excellent opportunity for our students, both as attendees and speakers, and they look forward to returning next year.
