Project Topic:
- In the application, teams should outline their project by
- i) identifying a specific problem or challenge in a particular SFSC, and
- ii) giving an outline of the solution they plan to develop.
- In this edition of the competition, team projects must be focused on strategies and actions aimed at Increasing innovation in existing SFSCs to make them stronger and more competitive. Projects dealing with innovative production, processing or packaging; eco-preservation; innovations in distribution, logistics, and marketing are some examples.
- During the competition, teams design and develop a project consisting of ideas, tools, and actions to solve a real, SFSC problem with a solution that is doable and of has the potential to be applied to other SFSCs.
- Teams may have a mentor from academia or from industry if they desire, though this is not required. If a team has a mentor, that person works with the team members on their project and will also be invited to the online sessions. Mentors do not have any official responsibilities during the competition.
- The project does not require practical work in a lab and should instead be focused on finding the best solution to meet food company expectations in terms of health and safety risks, improvement of economic value, quality enhancement of products, improved sustainability, etc.
- Teams have a maximum 4 pages to describe their project (incl. references, graphics etc.), to be submitted by 22 May at 23H59 CEST by email to foodfactory4us@iseki-food.net. Teams have a maximum 10 minutes to present their project at the FoodFactory4Us Final Virtual Conference on 1 June 2023. The first minute of each team’s presentation must be an “elevator pitch”. Full instructions for presentations can be found under Important Dates.
Team evaluation:
The course facilitators and the Advisory Board will evaluate the teams and their projects and find the winning team based on:
- The Quality of the Project (44,4% of final score) includes the following equally weighted: i) Match to the competition aim, ii) Innovation and application to industry, iii) Impact (social, economic &/or environmental) and iv) Participation, which is a sum of completed “learner evaluation begin/end”, attendance at online trainings, and completed assignments (the more team members that do each, the more points for your team)
- The Oral Presentation (33,3% of final score) includes the following equally weighted: i) The overall clarity and quality of the PowerPoint slides, ii) The method of delivery and/or ability to convey a message to the audience (concise and clear) at the Final Conference and iii) The response to questions at the Final Conference. Remember that your presentation must begin with a 1-minute summary (elevator pitch).
- The Written Report (22,2% of final score) includes the following equally weighted i) Quality of the strategy and development (against the problem description) and ii) Overall clarity. The project report template can soon be downloaded here.
Why participate:
- Each team of students will work on a real, food industry-based problem in sustainability and therefore improve specific knowledge and competences.
- All students will improve group cooperation skills and awareness of the importance and benefits of teamwork in a competitive environment.
- Project evaluation will be ‘real’, that is carried out by food industry and/or food associations who, in collaboration with academics, will evaluate the projects based on the best professional abilities in problem-solving and teamwork.
- All students will participate in an action-oriented, participatory learning experience in which they will share knowledge and improve skills in a virtual environment.
- If accepted by the home university, students can earn university credit for their participation in the Competition Game.
Awards and certificates
The Winning Team of the FoodFactory-4-Us Edition 2023 will receive:
- An award of EUR 300 sponsored by the ISEKI-Food Association*.
- Participation and accommodation for 3 members of the winning team at the Swedish Food Hack of autumn 2023, sponsored by RISE**.
Each member of the winning team will receive the corresponding certificates as winners.
And finally...
Each team member of the competition will receive a Certificate of Participation in the FoodFactory-4-Us Sustainable Supply Chain Competition.
*Depending on the country, the transfer of €300 may be more or less difficult. It is the responsibility of the winning team to ensure that they have a bank account which can receive a transfer of euros from Europe. If there are fees associated with this transfer, they will come from the €300 prize money.
**FAIRCHAIN, the sponsors of this competition game, is a European project and can pay for travel within Europe only and for 3 people only. It is the responsibility of the winning team to decide which 3 team members travel. If the winning team is from outside of Europe, they must pay their own travel to anywhere within Europe and then FAIRCHAIN can pay the travel to Sweden. Any visas required for travel are also the responsibility of the winning team.
