The general objective of IUPFOOD is to provide a multidisciplinary and specialised professional training in areas of food technology, with an emphasis on post-harvest and food preservation engineering on the one hand, and food science and technology on the other , to equip future personnel with the necessary technological and managerial knowledge, skills, and attitudes, which are required to contribute successfully to solving problems related to food security. The IUPFOOD programme particularly focuses on developing countries where food security (delivering enough nutritiou­s, high-quality safe food) is a current and future major concern and a key challenge.

Today has been acknowledged that post-production considerations or activities such as post-harvest handling, storage, processing, preservation, marketing, distribution and utilisations need to be a part of agricultural development programmes because there are many opportunities for food to be lost between harvest and consumption. These post-harvest food losses represent a loss of valuable nutrients and money, especially in developing countries. Food should not only be produced, it should also be delivered to the ultimate consumer in an acceptable form if it is to fulfil its nutritional destiny. To bring foods to the consumer in an acceptable form, on the one hand processing technologies are used to convert edible raw materials into foods with decreased inherent stability; on the other hand preservation technologies are required to increase the stability and shelf life of foods.

Based on these considerations, two technological dimensions of prime and crucial importance in food processing and preservation are the key objectives and programme options in IUPFOOD: the transformation (processing) of raw materials into products suited for human consumption and the role of post-harvest and food preservation unit operations in delivering safe and nutritious foods to the end consumer. These two concerns are directly translated into the focus points of the IUPFOOD study programme.

The programme builds on the integrated research and education expertise in the field of food technology present at KU Leuven and Ghent University. IUPFOOD offers two years of academic education, leading to the ‘Master of Science of Food Technology’ degree.

In the first year, in-depth knowledge on food science, engineering and food engineering is obtained, in order to achieve a common base level between students of different backgrounds. The first year is common to all participants. The first term is organised at Ghent University while the second semester is organised at KU Leuven.

The second year provides a broad knowledge on food technology and in-depth understanding of either ‘Post-harvest or Food Preservation Engineering' (PFPE) or 'Food Science and Technology' (FST), depending on the chosen major. The second year therefore also consists of specific course units on each major (PFPE and FST), electives, as well as dissertation research. The major, the electives, and the dissertation topic are chosen after completing the first year. For the electives, students may choose from course units belonging to the other specialisation as well as the the additional electives on offer. This enables the participants to compile a tailor-made curriculum according to their individual needs and interests.

The 'Food Science and Technology' (FST) major is organised at Ghent University, while the 'Post-harvest and Food Preservation Engineering' (PFPE) major is organised at KU Leuven.

Master's Dissertation
The Master’s dissertation integrates the acquired knowledge with the personal education/development of the student and is programmed in the third and fourth term. It represents an important study load (30 credits) because it is considered to be an outstanding example of guided self-study, an integration of all aims and objectives and an assessment instrument of all the learning outcomes of the Master’s programme. The Master’s dissertation represents a considerable volume of experimental work, analytical processing, interpretation and communication and is performed within a research group at KU Leuven or Ghent University.

It is the objective of IUPFOOD to offer a programme that takes into account the specific needs and approaches in developing countries. The IUPFOOD programme prepares students for different responsibilities, particularly in a professional teaching and research environment. IUPFOOD alumni are mainly active in the following sectors: academic institutes (as teaching and/or research staff), research institutes (as research staff), non governmental organisations (in different capacities), governmental institutes (e.g. in research programmes, quality surveillance programmes or national nutritiona­l programmes) and private industry (in particular quality control related jobs). A number of IUPFOOD alumni complete further PhD studies in an early phase of their career.