Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
The teaching staff is made up of more than 1500 full and associate professors. The staff of permanent researchers amounts to almost 300 units while there are about 570 temporary researchers of which almost 50% are under 40 years of age.
The teaching staff is made up of more than 1500 full and associate professors. The staff of permanent researchers amounts to almost 300 units while there are about 570 temporary researchers of which almost 50% are under 40 years of age. The University offers 77 three-year degree courses (11 of which are related with the themes of the call), 64 master's degree courses (10 of which related with the themes of the call with 5 provided in English), 36 research doctorate courses (4 of relevance for the call, i.e. PhD in Food Systems; PhD in Nutrition Sciences; PhD in Agriculture, Environment and Bioenergy and PhD in Veterinary and Animal Livestock Sciences). The University also offers 12 university masters, 38 postgraduate courses and 4 advanced courses related to the call. The numerous research centres, laboratories, didactic and multimedia classrooms ensure qualified support for teaching and research, as well as third mission activities.
Between 2017 and 2021, the University received more than 150 grants from the H2020 Programme (for more than 80.000.000,00 € funding to UNIMI groups), almost 250 international grants (mainly US grants) and hosts 22 ERC projects. In addition, there are 690 grants at national level (65% in the Life Sciences sector of which 73 focused on food related themes such as production, quality and safety, sustainability but also nutrition and health).
UniMi, which is a "generalist" university, is characterised by a wide variety of disciplines. The interdisciplinary vocation, the contiguity and the reciprocal methodological and cultural connection between different fields of knowledge in continuous development create a stimulating environment for study and work. Specifically, UNIMI has been widely promoting interdisciplinary approaches applied to research in the - food, health and environment - related areas as also demonstrated by numerous Departments dedicated to the topic and by expertise provided for the ON FOODS project which include food (bio)technology, food safety, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, nutrition and medicine, food and consumer economy, social and legal science up to environmental science and engineering.
UniMi has partnerships with many public and private institutions. UNIMI is part of the 4EU+ Consortium, an alliance with the Universities of Paris Sorbonne, Heidelberg, Warsaw, Prague and Copenhagen, aimed at building a European model for teaching, research and governance. UNIMI is also part of Elixir, which coordinates and develops life science resources across Europe so that researchers can more easily find, analyse and share data, exchange expertise, and implement best practices. With regard to research collaborations in the field of food science, in addition to partnerships with numerous national and international universities, UNIMI has established research collaborations with agencies and institutes both at national and at European level. Moreover, numerous are the research contracts and collaboration with large, medium and small enterprises in the food related area.
Below you will find the list of research projects in which this organisation is a main and/or secondary partner.
Scientific Innovation, Technology and Sustainability: Governance and Regulation
Principal investigators
Sustainability strategies in the cocoa-chocolate global value chain
Principal investigators
The right to adeguate food: actors and tools for implementation
Principal investigators
Cross-country empirical analysis of current EU dietary patterns and their changes over time
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The life cycle assessment as tool for food and nutritional analysis
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Public and private food procurement and short food values chains in urban areas
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Towards fair and efficient food chains: short food supply chains and alternative food networks
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Good practices and food quality production in the climate changes context
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Definition of a sustainability measurement system for agrifood chains, systems and food environments
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The biodistrict: organic food for local consumers and local food business
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Definition of an ethical legal model of sustainable food system relationships
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Extraction of bioactive compounds and/or macromolecules from food by-products and wastes
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Bioconversion of agro-industrial food and wastes by insects and microalgae
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Evaluation of prototypes from by products/waste
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New food and nonfood products from agrifood wastes
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New biomass stabilizers from food by products and wastes
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Environmental performances of new products/procesess
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Pilot-scale packaging solutions
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Assessment of bio-functional properties of new smart and sustainable packaging solutions
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New solutions for sustainable bio-based food packaging
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Biochemical technologies for sanitization of fresh food products
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Treatment of agro-industrial food byproducts and wastes by fermentation and enzymes
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New local and urban logistics solutions for the distribution of food products
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New strategies and technologies for the storage of food commodities to reduce waste
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New technologies and strategies to preserve roasted coffee beans in order to reduce food waste
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Xenobiotics and emerging contaminants in food of animal origin by advanced methods for food safety
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Integrated strategy for the safety investigation of novel food ingredients
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Identifying and limiting emerging threats to food safety
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Massive isolation and identification of contaminants from plant-based matrix
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Inhibition of gram-negative bacteria in fermented food and beverages
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Foresight study on the role of the future industrial food products by 2050
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The use of phase change material for the control of the food storage temperature
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Understanding the role of sensory determinants and perception in healthy eating
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Development of bioprocesses for the valorization of by-products from food side-streams
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Bioactive-rich mushrooms for food reformulation
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Technological and nutritional reformulation of meat analogues
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Implementation of fingerprint approaches in food systems
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Improvement of food fat profile by means of advanced lipid systems
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Product and process innovation of cereal-based products
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Reformulation of food products to increase micronutrients and bioactive compounds
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Sensory-led reformulation strategy to improve the nutritional and sensory quality of food
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Implementation and validation of healthy and sustainable menus throughout the lifecycle
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Role of tuna consumption in healthy and sustainable dietary models
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Fermented beverages studied by a metabolomics approach
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Scaling up of at least one fermented food validated under real productive conditions
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Highly processed foods: re-appraisal of classification systems
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Bakery products fortified with plant-based proteins from agro-industrial by-products
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Fermented plant-based innovative products as healthy and sustainable low-processed food models
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Oily seasonings with implemented nutritional, healthy and sensory characteristics
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Sustainable approaches for an overall olive oil quality
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Valorization of the wheat-alternatives flours to produce high fiber and protein traditional foods
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Promoting dietary shifts and sustainable diet valorising food products
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Nutrients and non-nutrients intake, status and related impact in different target populations
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Contribution of nutritional and dietary factors to the glycometabolic phenotype
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Contribution of nutritional and dietary factors to renal function in adults
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Early nutrition with personalized mediterranean diet to decrease long-term chronic diseases burden
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Identification and application of biomarkers of food intake
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Nutritional status and diet quality in italian population groups
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