NIFTEM – A Gateway to a Promising Career
The National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) was conceptualized by the Government of India on the persistent the demand of the food industry to have an apex body as a “One Stop Solution Provider” for the various problems of the sector. Ministry of Food Process- ing Industries, Government of India has set up this institute with an initial investment of Rs. 500 crores (US 100 million).
The institute is spread over an area of 100 acres. The institute intends to act as a center of excellence and an apex world-class center of global standards in the area of food technology and management. It will cater to the needs of various stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industries, exporters, policymakers, govern- ment, and existing institutions. NIFTEM being an apex institution under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has developed strong linkages with industries.
World class education at NIFTEM
NIFTEM aims to become a world-class education hub in Food Technology and Management. The salient features of NIFTEM are:
State of art infrastructure put in place in consultation with eminent experts in the food sector, both from India and abroad.
Fourteen world-class state-of-the-art teaching and research labs encompass- ing 7200m2 of the lab area. Further, there is a separate provision for high-tech research labs in the future.
Special classrooms with Multi-purpose Podiums, Projection system, Lecture recording & Audio system.
Acclaimed Faculty with global exposure; visiting foreign faculty; Point-to- Point and Multipoint Video conferencing for interaction with globally acclaimed teachers.
Five-story modern NIFTEM Knowledge Centre (library) in a 6580m2 area.
Online access to about 4000 e-journals/books through DELNET, DIAA, and other resources at the library.
Experiential learning opportunities through industry internship & business incubation centres.
Unique opportunity for meritorious students to work at Foreign Universities/Research Centres under its international student exchange programmes.
Training and Placement Support Cell.
Innovative concepts in education at NIFTEM
The benchmark set by NIFTEM is to be innovative and world-class in all its academic endeavors. UGC has granted NIFTEM a deemed-to-be University status under De-novo Category meant for institutions devoted to innovations in teaching and research in emerging areas of knowledge as unique accomplish- ments. The focal areas of NIFTEM are teaching, research, consultancy, skill development, business incubation, and enterprise development. It has:
The unique curriculum of B.Tech. and M.Tech. blended with technology and management.
Innovative, globally benchmarked curriculum.
Innovative approach for teaching through e-contents in an interactive mode and facilitating learning through mind maps, role-playing, and scenario analysis.
Providing a complete understanding of the food chain and its socio-technical issues through a unique “Village Adoption Programme” incorporated into the academic programmes.
Experiential learning through five pilot-scale food processing plants and in- cubation centres on the campus are followed by strong institute-industry linkages.
Career opportunities in Food Sector
The food Industry in the country looks forward to rapid growth with changes in the socio-economic environment and food consumption patterns of the prosper- ing population in general and of the youth in particular. Indian Food Processing industry is growing at a rate of 23% per annum as compared to the total in- dustrial growth of 7%, in the country. The food processing sector attracted a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of 188.67 million US$ in 2010-11. A study con- ducted by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR) predicts that there is a wide skill gap at various levels in the food sector touching around 35 million by 2017. Thus food industries are going to be a major employer in the coming future.
NIFTEM aims to expand food technology research and education far be- yond the conventional realm, by covering upstream food technology disciplines and providing exposure to its students in cutting-edge areas of relevance. The focus of NIFTEM transcends beyond traditional technology applications, so as to provide better career prospects to students in the field of Food Technology & Management to enable them to meet the demands of high-end professionals in the Food Industry. Industries have given feedback difficulties in recruiting suitably trained manpower and there is a huge shortage of the same. The cur- riculum at NIFTEM has been designed as per the specific needs of the industry. Hence, the job prospects for graduate and post-graduate students of NIFTEM are extremely bright and it is expected that they would be suitably placed at levels comparable to the best in allied sectors in the country.
Academic endeavours at NIFTEM
NIFTEM is making an effort to seamlessly blend various facets of the food industry from production to retail, to ensure that all those involved in these ac- tivities reap the maximum possible benefits. It envisages being a focal point for catalyzing the growth of Food Processing Industries. The Institute is offering B.Tech, M.Tech and PhD degree programmes in Food Technology and Man- agement and at the same time taking up initiatives for research and extension activities. For designing the curriculum of the proposed B.Tech and M.Tech courses, a Task Force of subject experts was constituted. They prepared a de- tailed syllabus which was sent for an extensive review to about 250 distinguished professionals in the area of food science and technology both at the national as well as the international level. The results of the same have now been compiled and inducted as per the suggestions and comments proposed by the reviewers from the food processing industry, as well as the academic institutes. A unique flavour of the curriculum is the blend of technology and management which is reflected in the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of NIFTEM.
