Designing Nutritious Future Dairy Products and Alternatives
Course content
The course will cover:
- The challenge: sustainable and healthy diets - from purpose to practice
- Processing effects on nutrients in dairy products, hybrid products and their vegan alternatives
- Nutritional effects of dairy nutrients: protein, lipids, lactose, calcium, immune-active proteins
- Digestion of dairy and alternative dairy products
- Benefits of minimal processing
- Introduction to human Nutrition and Gut Microbiota
Furthermore the course will describe what drives innovation and new product development, within both traditional and alternative dairy products.
Afterwards, the student will make an individual literature study project on a topic of their own choice within the curriculum of the course.
In this course the students recognize the importance of the chemical-physical properties of the ingredients and their interaction with individual process stages, and gain an overview of microbiological relationships.
Knowledge:
- importance of the chemical-physical properties of the ingredients and their interaction with individual process stages e.g. pasteurization, homogenization, fermentation and technologies for fresh dairy products such as drinking milk, cream, butter, yoghurt, cheese and their alternatives.
- Basic understanding of nutritional quality of dairy and alternative dairy products
- Basic understanding of the overall health aspects of these products
Skills:
- Read and use original scientific literature regarding dairy and alternative products.
- Find data and use models to assess nutritional quality and determine nutritional and sustainability trade-offs
Competences:
- Dealing with challenges in connection to develop healthy dairy products, hybrid products and their vegan alternatives
- Apply academic methodology to describe basic aspects of the nutritional quality of these products.
- Ability to present a self-chosen scientific topic in a comprehensive matter
A) Reading material for self-study is sent out to students 2
weeks before teaching at KU SCIENCE starts. This pre-reading
material constitutes one week full time study work.
B) Lectures, where a general overview of the subject is presented.
C) Theoretical exercises that elaborate and illustrate the
theoretical knowledge by using e.g. specific real world examples.
D) Individual project assignment selected during the course for
completion after teaching at KU SCIENCE ends.This project
constitutes 2 weeks of full time study work, and the project must
be approved, before the course is passed.
A selection of reviews, book chapters, original scientific literature, articles from news magazines and lecturer teaching material is presented and made available to students before the summer course starts.
It is recommended that students have passed 100 ECTS points of
their bachelor programme before signing up for this course.
Basic qualifications in chemistry and microbiology on bachelor
level is recommended
It is recommended that students have passed 100 ECTS points of their bachelor programme before signing up for this course.
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
-
Written assignment, 3 weeks
- Type of assessment details
- The student will prepare a written assignment based on a topic
within the curriculum.
The topic must be chosen and approved before the end of the two weeks teaching (August 14th 2026)
Subsequently, the student will work on the project individually, and hand in the report after 2 weeks. The individual project work can be carried out at home. It is not allowed to use AI software tools to generate parts of the individual project. - Examination prerequisites
-
Attendance at minimum 80 % of the teaching days (August 3- August 14, 2026)
- Aid
- All aids allowed
- Marking scale
- passed/not passed
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
Several internal examiners
- Re-exam
-
Same as the ordinary exam.
If the obligatory 80 % attendance in the original course cannot be met, an individual track fulfilling the same learning goals must be arranged with the course responsible no later than one month before the re-exam.
If the original project report are not passed, the student must hand in a revised project report.
Criteria for exam assessment
See Learning Outcome
Single subject courses (day)
- Category
- Hours
- Lectures
- 50
- Preparation
- 60
- Theory exercises
- 8
- Project work
- 88
- English
- 206
Kursusinformation
- Language
- English
- Course number
- NFOK24004U
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Programme level
- Full Degree Master
- Placement
- Summer
- Schedulegroup
-
5-week summer course.
Week 1: Reading materials for self-study is sent out to students 2 weeks before course start. Preparation constitutes one week full time study.
Weeks 2 and 3: On-campus teaching daily from 8:30-16:00 on August 3th - August 14th, 2026. Students are expected to be present on Campus during these two weeks.
Week 4-5: Individual written assignment. The assignment can be completed from home. - Capacity
- 30
The number of places might be reduced if you register in the late-registration period (BSc and MSc) or as a credit or single subject student. - Studyboard
- Study Board of Food, Human Nutrition and Sports
Contracting department
- Department of Food Science
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Science
Course Coordinators
- Lilia Ahrné (5-726f726f67466c75756a34717b346a71)
- Henrik Siegumfeldt (6-7a706c6e7c74476d76766b35727c356b72)
Teacher
This course is prepared and will be held in collaboration with teachers from the University of Copenhagen, Wageningen University, The Netherlands and University of Hohenheim, Germany
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