Master in Plant and Machinery Engineering of the Food Industry

• Type: Master's Degree Course
  • Duration: 2 years
  • Class: LM-33 - Class of master's degrees in mechanical engineering
  • Credits: 120
  • Free access

The Master of Science in Plant Engineering and Food Industry Machines is intended as specific objectives:

• the creation of a figure with a solid preparation in the sectors that characterize the design of machines for the food industry, the design and management of plants for the food industry and the management of food production processes;
• the complementary emphasis placed on the deepening of packaging and its sustainability, simulation models to support the design and management of food industry plants and related activities related to the food sector.

The educational path of the Master's Degree consists of a first year aimed at the subjects of the scientific disciplinary sectors of the food industry, such as: Food Hygiene, Agricultural Microbiology, Food Science and Technology. This in order to deepen the basic knowledge of the food industry not typical of the three-year graduate in Engineering, in order to deal appropriately with the disciplines of the more specialized and applicative content of the following year.

The first year is completed by courses featuring food industry plants, general facilities and food industry services as well as a course on heat and mass exchange.

The second year provides a single curriculum, with subjects related to the characterizing and related sectors, with courses aimed at the design, automation and management of production, with the aim of investigating specific issues and offering the graduate an adequate preparation for the performance of his future work or to deepen his training in the PhD and Master Courses.

The course is completed with the activities chosen and the other activities with the possibility of operating in the laboratories for practical experiences and carrying out an internship at companies in the sector. There will also be a test of English language proficiency, in order to guarantee adequate knowledge to students before entering the world of work.

Ample space is left to the work of preparing the master's thesis, where the student is required to make a considerable effort to prepare a paper with high-level technical and scientific contents.

Because in Parma

The establishment of this master's course in mechanical engineering is designed to best assimilate the peculiarities of a sector, such as the food industry, which combines highly interdisciplinary aspects, difficult to be assimilated by specific directions within mechanical engineering.

The technological developments of the food industry oblige the engineering and plant engineering companies of the sector to create specific refresher courses, or propose the training of Masters to fill the gaps in technology, microbiology and food chemistry. The course aims to provide you with a global understanding of aspects of the food industry that have never been addressed, which will allow you to enter directly into the productive fabric of the food industry. Within the first year of the degree you have the possibility of finding a job at 100% (rate of final employment Istat - Labor Forces - AlmaLaurea).

This figure is even better than the national average for mechanical engineering (national average 73.7%)

What awaits you after graduation

As a graduate, mechanical engineer of plants and machines in the food industry, you will find employment in mechanical and electromechanical industries, companies and institutions for energy production and conversion, plant engineering companies, automation and robotics industries, companies manufacturing in general for the production, installation and testing, maintenance and management of machines, production lines and departments and complex systems.

The main functions that you will be able to carry out will be that of food production management, design of machines and plants of the food industry, planning and programming of food production, management of complex systems, project management with reference to the management of food plant orders, assistance to sale of complex food plants and design and verification of food packaging

The University

In the city centre you can find the Departments of Arts and Humanities, Economics, Law and Politics, Medicine and Surgery and Veterinary Science. The other scientific Departments (Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability; Engineering and Architecture; Food and Drug; Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences) are located in the University Campus, a 77-hectare area in the southern side of the city which also hosts a brand new Technopole and cutting-edge sports facilities for all students.

In addition, Parma is a very nice human-scale city, where life is pleasant and inhabitants are friendly and welcoming: it is not by chance that more than half of our students comes from other Italian provinces, and, consequently, our University is ranked among the top ones for the number of non-resident students. Welcome, research, attention and innovation: they are the key elements to fully accomplish our mission, that is to grant you a complete and authentic experience of personal, intellectual and professional growth. You are, indeed, the centre of all our activities, the heart of one of the most important European Universities, which still preserves its ancient prestige while projecting itself into the future.

Scientific research activities of world excellence

Today, more than ever, “innovation” is one of the keywords of the University of Parma. Within the structures of the University of Parma there are scientific research activities of world excellence. The research areas range from agri-food to biotechnology, from pharmaceutical innovation to experimental medicine, not to mention the importance of studies in the legal, economic, humanistic, engineering, architectural and veterinary medical fields. Among the excellences, we must not forget the discoveries on the “mirror neurons” in the area of Neuroscience, the studies in Information Engineering that led to the creation of autonomous vehicles (without driver), the studies in the field of mathematics and those in the food sector, in which the University of Parma - also thanks to its position in the center of the Food Valley - aims to consolidate its status as a reference point, not only at regional level.

Tecnopolo and applied research

Another basic element of the University of Parma is the activity carried out within the Tecnopolo, where both the applied research of the interdepartmental centers and the “labs” of University partner companies in the research activities can develop, within a Campus which is the heart of innovation for the whole area.

The food project

The Food Project is an initiative promoted by the University of Parma with the aim of harmonizing and strengthening the skills and the competencies already existing within the University, at the research and teaching level, in the food sector, and to promote scientific interaction among in universities, industries, research centres, and with national and international educational institutions. The goal is to make the University of Parma a recognized European hub in the field of food technology and nutrition.

Accessing the degree courses

EU nationals may find all relevant access information HERE

Non-EU nationals access to the University of Parma is guaranteed through the procedures detailed at the national "Studiare in Italia" Web portal.