Programme WORKSHOP

Deadline

Call for the best contributions, including sensory and consumer studies, presented by PhD students enrolled in the 1st and 2nd year of a Food Science, Technology and Biotechnology PhD

The Italian Sensory Science Society (SISS) is pleased to announce the 4th edition of the Award for the best thesis projects that include sensory and consumer studies presented at the 30th Workshop on the Developments in the Italian PhD Research on Food Science, Technology, and Biotechnology.

Who can apply?

Each PhD candidate registered to the 30th Workshop on the Developments in the Italian PhD Research on Food Science Technology and Biotechnology, submitting an interdisciplinary thesis project contribution in which there is a part dedicated to sensory and consumer studies, but where sensory and consumer studies are not the main/only topic of the thesis.

How to apply?

To participate, all first and second year candidates registered to the 30th Workshop on the Developments in the Italian PhD Research on Food Science Technology and Biotechnology must indicate their intention to apply for the Award by selecting the relevant checkbox in the registration form.Candidates who express their intention to apply during registration must then send the following documents to the secretariat of the Italian Sensory Science Society (segreteria@scienzesensoriali.it) by June 30th, 2026:

• the abstract submitted for the conference at the time of registration;
• a dedicated abstract in English (maximum 3600 characters including spaces) presenting the sensory part of the thesis, with the following sections: context (background of the thesis and research question/gap in knowledge), objectives (aim of the thesis and aim of the sensory and consumer study included), materials and methods (how the study will be or was conducted specifying the details of the participants, methods used, organization of the sensory and consumer tests), results (expected or obtained), the role and the implications of the sensory study included in the thesis project (which is the added value of the sensory and consumer component of the thesis?).please note that this should also be sent through the regular submission system, filling out the registration form

Evaluation criteria

The contributions will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee of the Italian Sensory Science Society in terms of:

• Correctness and adequacy of sensory methodologies to the aims of research;
• Clarity of the sensory methodologies adopted or intended to be adopted;
• Coherence and integration of the sensory part in the thesis (interdisciplinary value).

The contributions of the first and second years will be evaluated separately (with separate rankings)

What does the award consist of?

Two prizes worth over 1500 euros each will be awarded to a PhD candidate of the first and second year, respectively, which will be disbursed in vouchers that can be spent for training/participation in events organized by SISS and in editorial material. In particular, the two winners will be awarded with:

• Free registration to the course for Sensory Project Manager 2027 (450 euro)
• Free registration to the Understanding consumers 2026 course (estimated value 900 euro) or to other courses organized in 2026/27 by the association of equal value
• Free registration to the SISS society for 2027 (100 euro)
• Free registration to the National Symposium in Sensory Science 2027 (estimated cost: 100 euro)
• Volume “Atlante Sensoriale dei Prodotti Alimentari” edited by the Italian Sensory Science Society (SISS). Tecniche Nuove. ISBN 9788848128414.

The award ceremony

The award ceremony will take place in Udine on the occasion of the 30th Workshop on the Developments in the Italian PhD Research on Food Science Technology and Biotechnology.

Anton Paar is proud of sponsoring one “Study Award” (AP-Award) to one PhD student in support of a 2 days of practical lab experience in its labs in Rivoli (Turin).

This Award will be attributed to n. 1 PhD student enrolled at the 2nd Year of the PhD program and aimed support (both from a technical and financial point of view) his/her research in carrying out instrumental measurements in the well-equipped labs of Anton Paar to complement/to improve the experimental plan of the project.

The Award will offer to the winner PhD student also the opportunity to build and expand her/his professional network and boost her/his future career.

The Award will be attributed by a Board of experts made of 1 representative of Anton Paar, 1 researcher/teacher of the university hosting the 30th Workshop (i.e. University of Udine) and 1 researcher/teacher of another university selected from the registered participants.

Any conflict of interest between the potential candidates and the members of the AP award will be avoided and the list of the members made public in the dedicated web page of the website.

Criteria of selection

• quality of the abstract (clarity, originality, overall quality)
• relevance of the chemical and physical properties of the PhD research in promoting innovation in food product development.

Award evaluation process

A pre-selection of the 6 PhDs better fitting the criteria of selection will be made considering all the 2nd year PhD students registered at the 30th PhD Workshop based on the submitted abstracts and their interest to be included in the selection (in the registration form).

The final selection will be carried out during the workshop where the AP-Award members will interview the 6 pre-selected candidates.

Award ceremony

The AP-Award ceremony will occur during the “Awards session”, on 18th September, planned before the closing session of the 30th Workshop.

The AP-Award

The awarded AP-Award PhD student will receive:

• A recognition plaque
• Full coverage of the expenses to spend 2 days in the Anton Paar labs in Rivoli (TO) including travel, accommodation and meals. For the duration of the hosting, the PhD student will receive all the assistance to carry out experiments in the labs by using the available instruments, including, among others equipment for rheology and tribology, DMTA, Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analyzer Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS/ ELS), instruments for BET and pore distribution, nano-indentation, FTIR, Raman, fluids, powders and solids density, farinography, extensography, residual moisture, lab scale milling, micro-visco amilography, microwaves digestion, etc.)

The Award will consist in one-day visit at the new BITE – Barilla Innovation & Technology Experience Center in Parma, where the student will have the opportunity to present his/her work to Barilla expert researchers and collect feedback and mentoring. The student will also be invited to a tour of Barilla biggest pasta production plant worldwide, located in Parma as well.

The Award will be attributed by a Board of experts made of 1 representative of Barilla Group, 1 researcher/teacher of the university hosting the 30th Workshop (i.e. University of Udine) and 1 researcher/teacher of another university selected from the registered participants.

Any conflict of interest between the potential candidates and the members of the Barilla Award will be avoided and the list of the members made public in the dedicated web page of the website.

Criteria of selection

The selection of the awardee will consider as criteria:

• Originality of the project
• Innovation level compared to existing literature
• Candidate’s ability to present results in clear and engaging format
• Coherence of the study with ESG goals from United Nations
• Applicability of results at industrial scale

Award evaluation process

A pre-selection of maximum 10 PhDs research projects better fitting the criteria of selection will be made considering all the 3rd year PhD students registered at the 30th PhD Workshop based on the submitted abstracts and their interest to be included in the selection (in the registration form).

The winner selection will be carried out during the workshop where the Barilla Award members will attend the oral presentations by candidates.

Award ceremony

The Barilla Group “PhD Research Award” ceremony will occur during the “Awards session”, on 18th September, before the closing session of the 30th Workshop.

The Barilla Award

The awarded Barilla Award PhD student will receive:

• A recognition certificate
• Full coverage of the expenses to support the 1 day-visit at the Barilla facilities in Parma, including travel, 1 night accommodation and offered meals during the visit in Barilla facility.
• The opportunity to build and expand his/her professional network and boost his/her future career.

The Barilla Group

Barilla is a family business, not listed on the Stock Exchange, chaired by the brothers Guido, Luca and Paolo Barilla. It was founded by their great-grandfather Pietro Barilla, who opened a small bread and pasta shop in Parma in 1877. Today, Barilla is renowned in Italy and around the world for the quality of its food products.

With its brands – Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pan di Stelle, Gran Cereale, Harrys, Pavesi, Wasa, Filiz, Yemina, Misko, Voiello, Academia Barilla, First, Catelli, Lancia, Splendor, Back To Nature and Pasta Evangelists – it advocates tasty, hearty and wholesome nutrition, inspired by the Mediterranean Diet and the Italian lifestyle.

When Pietro opened his shop almost 150 years ago, the main aim was to make good food. That principle has now become the Barilla way of doing business, with almost 9,000 people working for the company and a supply chain that shares its values and passion for quality.

The Group’s commitment is to offer people the joy that good, well-made food can bring them, produced with selected ingredients from, as far as possible, responsible supply chains, to contribute to a better present and future.

Since 1987, a historical archive has been collecting and preserving the company’s over 145-year history, now a resource open to all via the portal-museum
www.archiviostoricobarilla.com.

For further information, visit:
www.barillagroup.com;
Twitter: @barillagroup; LinkedIn: Barilla Group; Instagram: @barillapeople.

• Immediate industrial applicability: priority will be given to contributions that present results, solutions, or approaches that can be transferred to industrial practice and company needs in the short term.
• Impact on SMEs: particular attention will be paid to the research’s potential to generate concrete, measurable benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises in the agrifood sector, including efficiency, sustainability, quality, competitiveness, and innovation.

Selection procedure

All submitted contributions will undergo an initial screening using AI-based tools, aimed at identifying the projects that are most consistent with the two criteria outlined above. This will be followed by an in-depth human evaluation of the top 50 contributions emerging from the initial screening. At the end of the process, 2 winners will be selected.

Prize

Each winner will receive:

• 1 presentation slot within the Festival dell’Innovazione Agroalimentare
• 1 ticket for participation in the Meetup Food Hub on 27 November