An alternative proteins course is to be taught at the National University of Singapore (NUS) for the first time. An “Introduction to Advanced Meat Alternatives” will run as a 13-week graduate module on future foods as of January 2022.
The course will feature teaching contributions from Dr. Dean Powell and Dr. Wasamon Nutakul from The Good Food Institute APAC – Asia’s leading alternative protein think tank. The module is being offered by NUS’ Department of Food Science and Technology, which is the first and only full academic FST department in Singapore’s university sector.
A similar undergraduate module was established this year at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, which was itself the first of its kind in Southeast Asia and was also developed in collaboration with GFI APAC. Students learn the science of producing alt-protein products via plant-based, cell-cultured, and fermentation methods.
Alt Proteins in Singapore
With the growing food tech and alt protein sectors in Singapore set to boost the economy of the city-state, universities in Singapore are ensuring education in alt proteins to harvest future talent in the space. The government has invested $72 billion in climate crisis preparation, with a focus on sustainability and food security, thus creating the present hub of food tech innovation. It is also the only country to give regulatory approval to cultivated meat products currently.
“The eyes of the world are looking to young scientists to alleviate the looming environmental and food security crises stemming from industrial animal agriculture. There is no pathway to achieving global climate goals without changing the way we produce protein, so teaching the science of making meat from plants and cultivating it from cells means empowering students with the skills necessary to save their own future,” commented Mirte Gosker, Acting Managing Director of GFI APAC.
