Master in Design for Food

In partnership with UNISG Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo

Train innovative and sustainable product-service designers through an experimental approach that combines design, theory, strategy, and learning.

The Specializing Master Design for Food integrates extensive design skills with thematic and specific competencies in the food area, related to humanities, gastronomic sciences, engineering, and food technology.

It, therefore, provides a wide-ranging design capacity on process and tools for the design of the food product-service system and a series of specific thematic in-depth useful for the understanding of culture, sociological and anthropological factors and also scientific and technological.

As a whole, it provides an explanatory and comprehensive overview of food systems, from agricultural production to food processing, from distribution to consumption, from planning to recycling in a circular economy perspective.

The Specializing Master trains design and consulting profiles who are able to integrate creative and operational skills, through the development of hard and soft skills, which train participants to work in multidisciplinary teams, in competitive and highly strategic contexts, in quick and dynamic private and public organizations.

Title Released

At the end of the course, the Diploma of Specializing Master in “Design for Food” by Politecnico di Milano will be awarded.

The Specializing Master program grants 60 CFU (Formative University Credits) equivalent to 60 ECTS.

The Specializing Master Design for Food aims to train professionals, entrepreneurs, independent innovators, civil servants with competencies in the design and management of systems, processes, and products-services in the food sector. Professional Profiles characterized by a profile combining the design and experimental approach of the design with the thematic knowledge of the logics of the food sector in all its extension “from field to table”, including the traditional and more advanced production and distribution systems and with specific attention to sustainability.

The sector already expresses forms, experimentations, experiences, innovation, and project-oriented cases require transversal expertise able to integrate in a strategic way the different design factors. For this reason, the Specializing Master completes the design (in the disciplinary extension of systems, strategies, services, products-services, communication) and food engineering skills, brought by Politecnico di Milano, with the thematic and specific ones in the food area related to humanities, food technology, and gastronomic sciences, brought by the University of Gastronomic Sciences.

Participants will be able to:

• understand the socio-economic and environmental transformations of the sector
• outline innovative models and strategic orientations for the specific sector
• design for sustainability;
• understand and design the territorial impacts of food supply chains;
• use theoretical and critical skills to define design opportunities;
• understand and use the potential of the sector’s technologies, as well as the main elements of the production processes of the different supply chains;
• design complex solutions and their articulation in terms of product, service, communication, and space;
• manage the main elements of food safety and planning;
• manage all phases of the process of conception, design, development, and implementation of an innovative solution in an advanced perspective that includes participatory approaches;
• use specific design tools for design.

The job opportunities for graduates are manifold. These will be practitioners whose profiles combine the design and experimental approach with specific knowledge of the underlying logic of the food sector in its extension “from field to table”, considering traditional and innovative production and distribution systems, with specific attention to sustainability.

For example, we can list:

• R&D FOOD Project Manager: R&D managers for the improvement and implementation of food processing and production processes;
• FOOD Service & Product Designer: professionals specialized in the conception and design development of sustainable food products and services;
• FOOD Brand Manager: marketing managers for the development and implementation of innovative food product-service lines;
• FOOD startupper/entrepreneur: inventors and self-employed entrepreneurs capable of transforming innovative ideas into sustainable new businesses in the agri-food sector;
• FOOD Innovation Specialist: professionals and consultants of innovative food strategies and policies within companies, public institutions, research centers and third-sector organizations.

Didactic Plan

The Specializing Master Design for Food is organized according to a mix of theory and practice that sees the alternation of lessons and hands-on activities on projects and exercises organized in the form of workshops or applied experiences, such as study-tours and compulsory internship.

The Specializing Master Design for Food is structured according to a lesson plan that provides:

• Frontal lessons: aimed to introduce the main themes of study and the acquisition of tools and methodologies for analysis and design development; the lessons are held by a Faculty with professors from the Politecnico di Milano and the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, in addition to qualified external professionals;
• Workshop: “hands-on” activities developed in a studio (also in collaboration with external companies) aimed at the application of tools and methodologies for the development of product-service ideas;
• Study Trips: educational trips aimed to approach the topics dealt with, through experiences applied to real contexts in the food sector;
• Internship: 470 hours of training experience in a partner reality of the Master or suggested directly by the participants in agreement with the coordination of the Master.

WHAT IS A STUDY TRIP?

A Study Trip is a practical experience aiming to understand a place’s gastronomic complexity and teach how to travel for a gastronomic purpose. It represents a unique local learning experience, combining educational visits, events and tastings. Through first-hand interactions with producers and stakeholders, students have access to the backstage of typical food products.

Each study trip provides an opportunity to discover and analyse a food system through a holistic approach, highlighting the connections between food and landscape, time, people, architecture, environment and rituals.

The study trip program consists of educational activities, including visits to production sites, conversations with professionals and didactic meals, allowing students to critically reflect on concepts of origin, authenticity, tradition and innovation while being provided with specific geographical, historical and socio-anthropological contexts.

The didactic plan includes two study trips:

• a shorter one (4 days)

A complete immersion to delve into the specific food topics of a typical Italian area.

• a longer one (about 10 days)

An experience that mixes classroom learning activities (at the campus of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo) and visits to production facilities in the surrounding area.

The costs of the study trips (travel, room and board) are included in the registration fee.

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Politecnico di Milano - QS Ranking 2023 in Art&Design category