UZWIL, SWITZERLAND — Bühler will host the “9th European PhD Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology” in Uzwil, Switzerland, in March 2015.

As part of a competition that Bühler helped to organize, PhD students from 16 European countries will present their research projects March 24-25 at the headquarters of the Bühler Group. Entries are still being accepted and the preliminary selection of candidates has begun.

“Bühler is proud to host this prestigious event. The workshop is an excellent platform to discuss the current aspects of research and the main challenges in the food industry with highly qualified young researchers and to get these people interested in pursuing a career in our industry,” said Bühler Chief Technology Officer Ian Roberts.

In order to promote the exchange of ideas between representatives from the fields of science and industry, a competition for European PhD students takes place every year, which is organized in part by Bühler.

“The event is an excellent opportunity for representatives from the food industry and talented young researchers to come together and exchange ideas. We are also very excited for our international guests to get to know more about Bühler so that we can position the company as an attractive employer,” said Nicolas Meneses, project manager in the Research and Development department at Bühler.

This is important because the food industry has to compete with other industries to attract the most talented recent graduates. Furthermore, the PhD workshop allows students to learn more about the latest challenges affecting the industry and adjust their research accordingly.

“In-depth conversation between scientists and industry representatives plays an important role in ensuring that we can ascertain research results with high potential value,” Roberts said.

The European PhD workshop was held for the first time in Berlin in 2007. The event is organized by the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) Section on Food, the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST), and by Bühler. After eight years, the event will be held in Switzerland for the first time. A total of 16 PhD students, including engineers, food technologists, and biochemists, will present their research projects in Uzwil. The best project will receive the Julius Maggi Research Award 2015, which is sponsored by Nestlé.