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Current Situation For Finding Qualified People With A PhD; An Industry Perspective, Dairy Foods
The current situation for finding qualified PhDs with dairy foods experience is bleak. There are limited experienced people in the industry and an even smaller amount coming out of the universities. The trends in dairy that are continuing to influence the dynamic evolution of employee requirements are: economic shift to the extremes and decline of the middle, continual push to drive for sustainable products, and global shifts in the commodity market. Dairy foods are complex matrices and span a wide range of food systems. The need for dairy talent with deep as well as varied expertise is urgent but the academic institutions shouldn’t lose sight of the need to produce talent with a strong base in the fundamental sciences and with strong technical rigor. Companies are often recruiting, developing and retaining their specific talent, but this approach is minimally successful and often leaves gaps in expertise. Suggestions to close this gap are: applied internships within strong fundamental programs or joint university programs (degreed or specialty) that combine the strong fundamentals with the application.
Keywords: dairy foods, internships