Find your student representative

Our student representatives promote our events, competitions and IFST membership. We hold meetings with the representatives to discuss how we can best support their studies and their transition into careers in the food sector. Listed below are our currently appointed representatives.

Interested in applying? Don't see your university on the list?

Please email education@ifst.org

 

Maksim Ivanov
Coventry University

I am a final-year BSc Food Science student at Coventry University who is passionate about following a career in food manufacturing. To expand my knowledge of the latest food trends and the plethora of career routes available in the food industry, I actively engage in IFST events and continuously experiment with recipes in my kitchen.

Besides my love for food, I enjoy playing tennis, photography and travelling, which allows me to explore new flavours all around the world.  As an IFST Student Representative and a Senior Course Representative, I would like to bring more learning and networking opportunities to other students, by promoting IFST events and increasing the number of food-related career fairs/events at Coventry University.

Adaeze Okafor
Teeside University

Embarking on a career in food science was borne out of my interest in food, science, and technology. At a young age, I enjoyed learning chemistry, physics, and soon became interested in the processes and reactions that go on during cooking, baking, frying etc. Food and nutrition practical classes where always such a delight not just for the different foods we learned to make and eat, but also learning how nutrients function in our bodies. My interest to understand different food production operations (extrusion, drying, fermentation etc.) and how they impact food quality influenced my decision to study Food Processing Engineering.

In the past year, I have learned a lot about new product design, novel food products like plant-based protein alternatives, food safety and manufacturing engineering through my course work and webinars I have attended. It’s interesting how improved food preservation techniques and innovative technology can save cost, energy and increase productivity generally. As a Food Technologist, I am constantly motivated to be creative and find innovative ways to make food better, safer, and more available to meet the world’s growing needs. I Love Food Science and Technology!

Swetha Nair
Cardiff Metropolitan University

I am a final year masters student studying Food Science and Technology at Cardiff Metropolitan University. I was always fascinated by food and its unique flavours. My interest lies in developing new products, conducting sensory analysis and learning more about the ingredients used and its potential health benefits and this is what led me to take up a career in this field.

Phoebe Isimoya
Cardiff Metropolitan University

Hello there! I am a Cardiff Metropolitan University student pursuing a master’s degree in food science and technology and am interested in new product development. At the undergraduate level, I studied nutrition and food science, and for my final project, I worked on developing yoghurt from tigernut milk-a plant-based milk. During this time, I developed an interest in creating and optimizing food recipes. Food is essential to everyone, and I believe that people should be able to enjoy food even though they have health challenges.  Outside of school, I enjoy writing, taking videos, baking and going on walks. 

Varad Yadav
Cardiff Metropolitan University

I’ve been a foodie since the early stages of my life and there was a time when I realized I had gained a lot of weight and had to get these things right, I eventually became a fitness enthusiast and had to learn a lot of things about food and nutrition, during this time my interests in these topics grew and I decided to pursue food technology as my career which was my bachelor's degree where I learned about various subjects related to food science which were of my interest and for further education I decided to join Cardiff Metropolitan University for the M.Sc. In food science and technology course.

Hoi Yan Chan
The University of Leeds

I am a BSc (Hons) Nutrition graduate and currently a Master’s student in Food Quality and Innovation at the University of Leeds. My passion for food started when I consumed my grandmother’s homemade cuisine for the first time. Seen then, I would like to try cooking by myself. I always thought about the science and the nutrients behind our food. My interest is in quality control and new product development.

Lastly, I am delighted to be an IFST student representative for the University of Leeds and promote IFST activities to food science and nutrition students. Let more of our students join our lovely community and learn more about the trends in the food industry.

Obafemi Akinwotu
University of Lincoln

I have long been obsessed with nutritious foods and food packaging. I began to observe that nearly every food container in every grocery store comes with a compelling story, from unprocessed ingredients to processed food products. I began to imagine how science and technology had altered the dynamics of the food ingredients we see in grocery stores. Accounting for ingredients, nutrition, packaging, storage life, price, and consumer tastes is quite a balancing act, and for this reason, I chose to study food science, with opportunities to specialise in a wide range of interests such as food entrepreneur, food biochemist, food microbiologist, food nutritionist, and so much more.