This MSc course prepares students for a career in dynamic food businesses to play a lead role in the analysis of key sectorial issues and strategic management of the food industry. The balance of modules on this programme reflects the global nature of the food industry. Students will expand their knowledge of food, the food consumer, innovation in food and the decision-making processes in companies that develop, brand, distribute, and sell food products. Through practical application, this programme will equip graduates with analytical, communication, business and presentation skills, which are required and highly valued by the industry. Graduates from the MSc in Food Business and Innovation course pursue employment opportunities in the food sector (international corporations, SMEs, start-ups and food agencies) and non-food sector (banks, market research firms and higher education) as the skills acquired are highly transferable.
The MSc in Food Business and Innovation is delivered over 12 months and includes a Food Industry Centered Research Project.
A central part of the MSc in Food Business and Innovation is a Food Industry Centred Research Project with the opportunity to work in a food firm, food agency, university, bank or related establishment, where students gain valuable work experience and apply the theoretical skills developed through lectures and capstone style seminars. Additional unique features of the MSc in Food Business and Innovation programme include: an in-depth introduction to the national and international food sectors; a unique blend of relevant courses that are relevant to both established food firms and start-ups; and an introduction to leading edge food research issues, innovative teaching methods (including boot-camps) and exposure to digital marketing methods.
The Programme provides the graduate with the expert skills to analyse the key issues impacting on food chains: changing consumer demands and demographics; food supply chain management and structural changes at retail level; food safety and consumer behaviour; consumer acceptance of novel foods; new food product development opportunities; the evolution of functional foods and the marketing of health-enhancing foods. The course is ideally suited to graduates who seek employment opportunities in Market Research, Consumer Research, Food Business Management, Product Marketing and Brand Management, New Product Development, Food Retail Organisations, the Financial Sector as Food Analysts, Research Institutions and Policy Organisations, and organisations that support food firms nationally and internationally.
What can I do after I graduate with a MSc in Food Business and Innovation?
Problem solving, creative thinking, communications, strategic thinking, entrepreneurship skills
Occupations associated with MSc in Food Business and Innovation
Food Sector: Market Research, Consumer Research, Food Business Management, Product Marketing and Brand Management, New Product Development.
What are our Graduates Doing?
Graduates on sister programmes have secured employment in international food and non-food firms (Glanbia, Ornua, Kerry, Britvic, Danone, Aldi, Dawn, AIB, LinkedIn), banks, food agencies (Bord Bia, UK Home-Grown Cereals Authority, Teagasc), brand management and marketing departments (Kerry Foods, Musgrave Group, Nestle), non-food agencies (Enterprise Ireland, IBEC, Bord Bia), market research firms (AC Nielsen, Spark Market Research, Dunhumby) and in Higher Education (CIT, WIT, University of Lancaster).
Participants can complete their placement either in Ireland or abroad, depending on their interests
On successful completion of the MSc in Food Business and Innovation, students should be able to:
The MSc in Food Business and Innovation is a full-time 12 month programme. In Part I, you will need to be available to attend classes and seminars from Monday to Friday (inclusive). During Part II of the programme, you will complete a full-time Applied Food Industry Centred Research Project under the guidance of an academic and industry mentor.
The MSc in Food Business and Innovation programme is taught by academic staff of the Department of Food Business and Development and Management and Marketing. In addition, invited guest lecturers, adjunct professors and experts with a broad range of national and international experience will also contribute to the programme.
You will be assessed by examinations, continuous assessment and a Food Industry Centred Research Project report.
The MSc in Food Business and Innovation programme is taught by academic staff of the Department of Food Business and Development and Management and Marketing. In addition, invited guest lecturers, adjunct professors and experts with a broad range of national and international experience will also contribute to the programme.
The MSc in Environmental Leadership will equip you with an advanced level of knowledge and problem-solving, management and communication skills in key areas relevant to the environment, marine and energy sectors.
It will provide you with a capacity and capability for environmental leadership relevant to your career trajectory.
The Environmental Leadership course sets out to equip you with the ability to contribute to regional, national and international sustainable development.
This course has a focus on cross-sector skills and competences that can be transferred from one topic/occupational area to another, so enabling national and international occupational mobility for its graduates. Cross-sector skills are of growing importance all over Europe and are considered to be relevant to occupations across several economic sectors.
The MSc in Environmental Leadership provides training in governance, management and communication, relevant to the environmental, marine and energy sectors, and will provide you with the competences to obtain employment in research, policy development or management.
The course structure is based on a 90 ECTS model, with 60 ECTS coming from taught modules, 45 credits of these are from core modules and 15 credits come from optional modules. A research project in Semester 3 accounts for the remaining 30 ECTS.
Core modules include: Natural Resource Governance, Environmental Problems & Solutions, Project Management, and Communicating Science & Research.
Optional modules include: Environment & Human Health, Marine Spatial Planning & Policy and Climate Change.
The target audience for this course include graduates with a degree in science, geography, engineering and the social sciences who wish to progress into managerial, advisory and decision-making roles. The course will be relevant to graduates from NUI Galway, other national or international institutions and those with relevant work experience who wish to advance further in their field.
The course will produce well-rounded, motivated, mobile and dynamic problem-solvers and leaders who can work in any area related to environment, marine and energy. The subject knowledge, transferable skills and thesis elements of the course are designed to provide you with the opportunity to carry out further research, work in the public or private sector, or create your own employment.
Graduates will acquire transversal and multidisciplinary skills in governance, communication and management, enabling them to take on roles within an industrial setting, or within a regulatory body or private consultancy firm. Careers such as project managers, consultants and advisors exist within public and private sectors in Ireland and elsewhere. In addition, the course will provide opportunities for some students to move into PhD programmes or other research roles.
The MSc in Innovation in European Business (MSc IEB) is delivered by three international partners: UCC, Ireland; Institut Supérieur du Commerce de Paris, Paris, France; and HU University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands. The MSc IEB is designed to meet the needs of industry by training you to understand innovation and change within an international perspective. Businesses often find that young professionals have management skills and knowledge but lack creativity and an awareness of the specific challenges required to implement and manage innovation. In this course you will be trained to understand how to manage dynamic environments
The MSc in Innovation in European Business is a 15-month (90 ECTS) taught course taking place across three locations in Ireland, France and the Netherlands. The course will provide you with valuable skills in business, management and analysis. You will gain state-of-the-art knowledge on how to implement and manage sustainable innovation. This will be achieved through a series of modules organised around the innovation cycle in organisations, vision–development–implementation–management and seminars on innovation in Europe. You will learn to focus on business deliverables and business interactions through a company placement and also by presenting a research project as a dissertation.
Key elements of the course:
“Citibank are very encouraged by the development of the MSc in Innovation in European Business. Innovation is key to the smarter economies of the future and this course will prepare you to fill a wide variety of positions related to the management of the innovation cycle in modern organisations. The skills you will acquire in this ground-breaking course are critical skills for many industries and businesses.”
Gavin Callan, Head of Research and Academic Collaboration for Citi's Research, Development, innovation and Learning (RDiL) Centre, Dublin.
The MSc IEB also enjoys participation from staff from:
The MSc IEB offers study periods at three different campuses in three different countries in Europe, as well as a six-month industrial placement which typically takes place in a European country, although students can decide to look further afield.
This MSc course will give participants a deeper understanding of co-operatives, sustainable development and the agri-food system. This is a unique course, with a very strong practical emphasis and will equip participants with the organisational and management skills needed to make innovative contributions to the development of local economies, with particular emphasis on co-operatives, social enterprises and food businesses in Ireland and overseas. It is aimed at graduates from a wide range of disciplines who wish to pursue careers in sustainable development and innovative practice leading to positions in the food sector (ranging from local food enterprises to large multi-nationals), local and international rural development, shared and collaborative economy, NGOs, innovative community businesses including co-operatives and social enterprises, local and regional enterprise development, corporate social responsibility, policy formulation and analysis.
The MSc in Co-operatives, Agri-Food and Sustainable Development is delivered over 12 months and includes a placement opportunity.
This course is the only one year Masters of its kind which fully integrates co-operative approaches into the study of sustainable development and agri-food. It is especially practical, both in work placements and in the skills you learn. It will prepare you to work in organisations that deal with current and future socio-economic and environmental challenges including climate change, collaborative economies, and sustainable rural communities.
Participants can complete their Practice-Based Research Project either in Ireland or abroad, depending on their interests.
Graduates can expect to work in Co-ops and other third sector organisations (e.g. social enterprises, voluntary organisations, charities); international, non-governmental (NGOs) and business development organisations; Rural development policy and support (e.g. animation); consultancy (in agri-food, rural development, third sector); local economic development/enterprise development staff through local authorities and consultancies; local food marketing and branding; corporate social responsibility roles in food and other industries.
Occupations associated with [MSc Co-Operatives, Agri-Food and Sustainable Development]
Research, Policy advisory roles, Local food marketing, local and international development roles, corporate social responsibility roles, co-operative advisory role as well as management.
What are our graduates doing?
Graduates can expect to work in a wide range of areas such as agri-food businesses (including co-operatives and artisan food enterprises), local government, NGOs (Irish and International), consultancy, research and policy analysis, social enterprise and local development agencies (e.g. LEADER).
The MSc in Innovation, Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship, known as the MSc(ICE), is a one-year, taught, multi-disciplinary master’s programme. The MSc(ICE) will provide you with an integrated professional practice skil- set in the theory and practice of innovation, technology commercialisation and entrepreneurship.
This programme, offered through UCC’s College of Business and Law, has been developed to meet the emerging opportunities presented by new technologies, growth in knowledge-based and service-based sectors, globalisation, and the increased focus on outsourcing by traditional enterprise. The MSc(ICE) programme allows you to consider, create and grow entrepreneurial ventures, both within existing organisations and in high-tech start-ups.
This course offers you the chance to improve your entrepreneurial skills. Two students from the inaugural intake of the MSc(ICE) have been highly commended at the recent Intel Challenge held in Poland.
MSc(ICE) students Gillian Barrett and Brian Corish produced the business plan for Zooplar which was the Irish nominee for the Intel completion. This followed their success at the Enterprise Ireland ‘Think Outside the Box’ Competition earlier in 2012.
For MSc (Innovation, Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship) (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:
For Postgraduate Diploma in Innovation, Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:
