by Nicole Brini

 

"Global standards and local realities become something students can truly observe."

 

What kind of student is attracted to international agrifood programmes today?

Today, students who choose international agrifood programmes are not motivated only by the idea of studying abroad. They are increasingly interested in understanding food as a complex system that connects science, society, industry, and culture.

Many students come from regions closely linked to agriculture and the food industry, so they already have a natural awareness of issues such as food production, safety, and nutrition. At the same time, they clearly recognise that food security, public health, and sustainability are global challenges that no single country can address alone.

They are therefore eager to build a solid scientific foundation in areas such as food chemistry, food microbiology, food safety and analytical testing, while also comparing different regulatory systems, industrial structures, and food cultures across countries.

In the cooperation between Jilin University and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, we see students who are both curious and practical. They are interested in topics such as food authenticity and fraud detection, advanced analytical technologies, digital optimisation of production processes, and the development of functional foods. At the same time, they care about how these technologies can be translated into real industrial applications.

In many ways, they are not choosing between science and application, or between local and global perspectives. They are learning to move between all of them, gradually shaping a professional identity that is both grounded and internationally open.

 

Food production is deeply rooted in local ecosystems and regulations. How can agrifood education be both locally grounded and globally structured?

Agrifood education always begins with context. Food is never produced in abstraction. It is shaped by soil, climate, agricultural systems, and regulatory frameworks. For students, understanding this local reality is the first step toward understanding food itself.

At the same time, the core principles of food science are universal. Fields such as food chemistry, food microbiology, analytical techniques, and quality assurance systems provide a shared scientific foundation for agrifood education worldwide.

This is why we often describe agrifood education as a layered model. The scientific foundation is built on internationally recognised knowledge and laboratory practice. Building on this base, each institution brings its own regional context—its agriculture, its industry, its research priorities, helping students broaden their perspectives.

Through collaboration with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, students are able to experience this balance directly. They can better understand China’s vast and diverse food system, while also gaining insight into Europe’s highly developed agrifood traditions and regulatory structures. In this process, global standards and local realities are no longer abstract concepts— they become something students can observe, compare, and work with.

 

How do institutions balance their territorial identity with participation in global academic networks?

In agrifood science, territorial identity is not something to be set aside. It is often the point from which meaningful research begins.

Every region has its own agricultural practices, food culture, and industrial structure, and these factors naturally shape the research focus of a university. At Jilin University, we build on the strengths of Northeast China, with long-term research in food safety, nutrition and health, functional food biomanufacturing, and post-harvest preservation and processing. Supported by these efforts, our agricultural sciences have reached the global top 1% in ESI rankings, forming a distinctive “Northeast China food science” profile. These strengths are closely aligned with national priorities in food industry development and public health, and they also provide a solid foundation for international collaboration.

At the same time, food science today is deeply interconnected. New analytical technologies, safety standards, and research methods circulate rapidly through international networks. Remaining active in these networks is essential for any institution that wants to stay at the forefront of the field.

The real challenge, and opportunity, lies in turning local experience into part of a wider global dialogue. Our cooperation with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore reflects this idea in a very natural way. Italy brings a long tradition of food culture, certification systems, and strong links between science and industry, while China offers scale, diversity, and rapidly evolving innovation in both agriculture and food production.

We are also pleased to see that faculty exchanges from Università Cattolica will continue in the coming years, bringing more opportunities for joint teaching and research. Through curriculum collaboration, academic visits, and joint research projects, both sides can deepen their understanding of food systems through comparison and dialogue. In doing so, we aim to stay firmly grounded in local strengths while engaging actively with global frontiers, contributing Chinese insight and Jilin University’s perspective to the sustainable development of global food systems.