News

• The 2023 Academic Awards for the best Dissertations and PhD Theses related to the agri-food industry have been announced.

Promoting business-university collaboration in the agri-food industry. This is one of the main objectives of the “Engineering in the Agri-Food Industry Goya – Antonio Unanue” Chair, an initiative promoted by the University of Seville and Goya Spain to promote interdisciplinary teaching and research activities linked to the agri-food industry that allow the study of the reality, problems, and prospects for the development of new strategies and technologies in the field.

Directed by Amalia Luque, Professor of Engineering Projects at the University of Seville and based at the Polytechnic School, the “Goya Antonio Unanue” Chair is one of the three University-Company Chairs based at the Polytechnic School, University of Seville. As pointed out by the director, Goya’s response to this educational initiative has been very positive from the start: “We presented our proposal, and it was of great interest to them because it is an interesting stake for the development of industrial projects for the agri-food industry sector in general and olive oil in particular. They proposed that it should bear the name of the factory’s founder, Antonio Unanue, who in 1974 opted for quality production by optimising industrial processes.”, indicated Amalia Luque.

Conference Programme

The Goya Antonio Unanue Chair has envisaged a wide range of activities to promote the transfer of knowledge. The “Engineering Projects in Action Classroom Permanent Seminar” programmed a series of conferences given by specialists from the industrial, research and business sectors related to the Chair’s scope. The first of these conferences, with the participation of Goya Spain’s Quality Director, Antonio Martín, was given by José Juan Gaforio Martínez, Professor of Immunology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Jaén and focused on the “Disparate impact of edible fats in the prevention of diseases: A case study on EVOO, sunflower oil and coconut oil”. Professor Antonio Madueño then gave a lecture on “Artificial vision and neural networks in the olive agroindustry”, while consultant Jorge Miguel Marqués focused on “Lean Manufacturing” for process improvement and saving energy in the agri-food industry.

Once the summer is over, the Sectorial Conference will take place at the Polytechnic School headquarters, which will include a conference given by a leading technologist and will allow the activities of the Chair and Goya España to be presented in an environment of special interest for attracting talent.

Academic Awards 2023

Business-university collaboration will also be supported by training and recognition of research, as well as attracting talent. The Chair promotes academic work related to processes in the agri-food industry, especially in the olive sector, and which are of use to Goya Spain.  “Furthermore, the Academic Awards of the Goya-Antonio Unanue Chair have been announced,” says Amalia Luque. “Applications for Dissertations and PhD theses categories will be open until 30 September 2023”.

Access to two base categories (spanish version): Tesis Doctorales y TFE .

In terms of attracting talent, the Chair will serve as a link between Goya Spain and the university. “Our students and graduates are highly specialised, which is undoubtedly an opportunity for the company, if needed. Specialists in the agri-food industry can optimise production processes,” concludes the Chair director. Consultations by mail: catedragoya@us.es