Integrating Design And Food Studies: Learning by design or getting a sense of different contexts?

This paper tries to relay some of the experiences with integrating design perspectives and solutions into the overall fabric of the Master’s education in Integrated Food Studies (IFS) over the last five years, as witnessed from an occasionally assessor, lecturer and observer in the design and gastronomy courses. This is done, in order to facilitate a discussion on how food design can facilitate better interdisciplinary learning possibilities that are more fully integrated with issues like innovation, policy, health, sociology and communication (some the other major themes that the IFS education offer). More concretely the paper positions and explores (but does not fully answer) the question: How do we as researchers, practitioners and teachers use food design to engage students with issues that go beyond the “plate-meal” – scapes? And how can design engage societal, scientific and political issues and their interrelations? Integrated Food Studies is an interdisciplinary Master of Science Program addressing today’s national and global challenges in the food sector. The three pillars of the education are: Design and Gastronomy; Food Policy, Innovation and Networks; Public Health Nutrition.