Starting your own food business with SFYN and Aeres University in the Netherlands
24 Feb 2017

SFYN & Aeres University launch new bachelor degree program in the Netherlands: Food Entrepreneurship
In the Netherlands, students can subscribe for a new bachelor degree program: Food Entrepeneurship. The Slow Food Youth Network in the Netherlands, in collaboration with Food Hub, are launching a new program inspired by the Slow Food philosophy. The course is open for international students, and there is a ‘Holland grant’ of €5000 available for non EEA students. ‘I’m thrilled that we are launching this program,’ Joris Lohman, founder of Food Hub and Slow Food International board member says. ‘It gives us the opportunity to introduce the slow food philosophy into the curricula of one of the most renowned agriculture universities of the Netherlands. We hope to train a new generation of entrepreneurs that will be enabled to start new food businesses that are good, clean and fair.’
In the rapidly urbanizing world there is a need to reconnect people to their food, and the people who make it. As a graduate of the bachelor Food Entrepreneurship, you will have the right knowledge and skills to build business with this future challenge in mind. Graduates are entrepreneurial and innovative people used to working in multidisciplinary teams, able to use their abilities to contribute to a food system that can feed the world in a sustainable way.
The bachelor program has a duration of one year and consists of two semesters in which the transition of the food system and the development of a business will be at the core. Each semester has two elements. In the first semester students will focus first on the transitioning food system through familiarizing themselves with developments within the Dutch food system, supported by theory on transition and (societal) change. Alongside this systemic approach there is also a focus on personal development and, for example, creating a personal action plan and understanding personal strengths. The second focus will be on the market and marketing. New business models and questions on how to set up/manage a business or start-up will be dealt with. A personal mission (a change which the student would like to see in the food system) will be formulated while their understanding of the market grows.
The second semester will ensure students understand how to bring a service or product to the market and will answer questions on packaging, labeling and e-marketing. Further they will explore developing campaigns and how customer relations should or can be managed.
In the last part of the degree students will research a topic of their own choice, either connected to a traineeship or based on their own company or product. During this part of the program, they are challenged to further develop the necessary competencies for a position related to their major. Students will have to write and defend an Engineering thesis relevant to the sector and related to their field of expertise, as proof of scientific and academic skills.
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