The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) (SE)

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a state-run university, established in 1977 through a merging of the university colleges of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine. There are three faculties at the university; Agricultural Sciences, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine. Unlike other Swedish universities and colleges which answer to the Ministry of Education, SLU , Sweden's only agricultural university, answers to the Ministry of Agriculture. SLU has about 3.600 employees and 2600 students. The main campus is in Uppsala and teaching/research units are located in three other places (Skara, Lund, Umeå).

Department of Food Science

The increased interest in the potential and quality of primary products has led to an expansion of research in recent years at SLU and the need for greater co-operation has increased. As a result, a new Department of Food Science was created at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in July 1st 1990. The establishment of the new department should strengthen and co-ordinate the contribution of SLU in the field of food science and at the same time give the research its own identity. Research efforts are focused on the properties and contribution of food raw materials. The department has close research contacts with other institutions both within Sweden and abroad. The Staff of the department is 50 employees ,38 having an academic degree, 4 full professors, 1 adjunct professor, 5 associate professors and 17 PhD-students. The department is organised in four divisions; Dairy Science, Crop Science, Meat Science, and Food Chemistry.

The department is engaged in teaching food science at the MSc degree in agronomy with 30 students per year and also in a three year Food Engineering programme with 20 students per year at SLU-Skara. In this programme the latest developments in food science are taught through new courses designed to provide the Swedish food industry with a pool of specially trained professionals. The organisation allows undergraduates to direct their studies toward food related issues. Information concerning future graduates specialized in food science is distributed through departmental contacts with the Swedish food industry.

The department participates in an ERASMUS network on Food Science and is responsible for the Swedish International Dairy Training Program consisting of two courses per year.

It additionally participates in a SOCRATES project entitled "Food in Europe".

SLU has developed and been responsible for a distance learning course in Food Science (5 credit points) in collaboration with other institutions within as well as outside the university.