Master of Food and Packaging Innovation
Course code: MC-FOODPI
March, July
Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) available
Access Melbourne is available
March, July
AUD $57,984 (2026 indicative first year fee)
IELTS 6.5: with no band less than 6.0
Career outcomes
Overview
This flexible degree opens a variety of creative careers in the food industry at local, regional and global levels.
You could work with food sensory (tasting) panels to understand how to develop healthy and appealing products, create biodegradable packaging that also extends shelf life or take part in the development of new foods.
Potential careers include:
- Food product development technologist: Develop innovative new food products and ways to present them
- Packaging technologist: Identify new, unique and sustainable packaging for food that appeals to customers
- Consumer insights specialist: Research consumer behaviour to identify product improvements or develop innovative food product ideas to meet consumer demands
- Food industry marketer: Combine your knowledge of food, consumer preferences and marketing to develop new opportunities for food businesses.
You could also follow a research pathway by completing a PhD.
Profile
Pavneet Kaur Kharbanda
Pavneet Kaur Kharbanda saw value in the blend of packaging design, innovation and food science.
“Packaging can have a pretty negative image in the context of sustainability, mostly because of the wide use of plastic,” she says. “But stopping plastic use altogether presents enormous challenges, because sustainability has to be balanced with the need for access to nutritious foods extended shelf life and protection from external issues like heat. So, you need to do a life cycle analysis that considers the packaging from raw material through to manufacturing, consumer use and the recycling potential to get a good result for the environment.”
“Being even a small contributor to solving this problem through designing sustainable packaging, finding low- cost solutions to minimise food wastage or improve transport over long distances without reducing quality – those are things I’m looking forward to,” she says.
Read more of Pavneet’s story.
Pavneet Kaur Kharbanda (India)
