Sustainable Lipid Technologies for Global Health and Agriculture

ended

Sustainability is a major driving force in the life sciences, including health, nutrition, biotechnology, and agriculture. A major global focus is to reduce the use of environmentally damaging chemicals and to identify more environmentally friendly, natural solutions that can be useful for industrial applications. One promising class of natural materials is lipids that are widely used in various industries and receiving intense interest for global health and agricultural applications such as potential antibiotic replacements and vaccine delivery. However, there is an unmet need to build an international curriculum at the MS level to train future global leaders in the lipid technology field, especially considering the growing industry demand for skilled manpower with lipid expertise. By bringing together world-leading lipid research and education hubs from across the European Union and Korea, the envisioned LIPIDTECH Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) program will educate young scientists about the fundamental chemistry of lipids, processing and manufacturing of raw lipids and more complex assemblies such as lipid-based nanoparticles, and translational applications in healthcare, biotechnology, and agriculture. Emphasis will be placed on cutting-edge industry trends and emerging regulatory issues that will place future graduates at the forefront of the lipid technology field. The Erasmus Mundus Design Measures (EMDM) grant will support LIPIDTECH program design across four priority areas: 1) degree structure and accreditation planning; 2) curriculum development; 3) student support; and 4) university relations.