Global Food Law: Sustainability Challenges and Innovation
Are you interested in the subject of food in all its many facets, from innovation to protections, rights and regulations? Do you enjoy finding practical solutions to present-day issues involving food sustainability? Would you like to enrol on a highly qualified course spanning a variety of areas and which is taught in English, for a constantly evolving employment marketplace in search of quality professionals? If so, the “LLM Global Food Law: Sustainability Challenges and Innovation” at Parma University is what you have been looking for.
The LLM course will be going live in September 2024 in Parma University's Department of Law, Political and International Studies. This two-year course will involve one year of on-site lessons in Parma, and a second year in blended mode. The lessons, which are delivered by lecturers from our University along with highly qualified visiting professors from top partner Universities, aim to train “innovative legal professionals” with a keen eye for the challenges of tomorrow, in complex sectors working to high standards. Particular emphasis will be placed on food sustainability, food safety and food security. The Food Valley is a deeply rooted feature of the Parma area, and has prompted us to create a course which is unique of its kind in Italy. This course will be taught in a Department that has earned Excellence status in Law, Political and International Studies, thanks to its efforts spanning a number of years to study and analyse Food Law in conjunction with companies and stakeholders.
The first year of the LLM will see lessons focusing on legal areas, along with an examination chosen from topics of an economic or scientific nature. The second year will focus on transversal, modular topics which also cover areas targeting economics, political sciences, sociology and nutrition. As a result, students will be able to engage on topical issues in the classroom. These will range from legal and nutritional aspects of labelling to animal welfare (which students will be able to discuss with a professor of veterinary sciences and a professor of law sitting on the University's animal welfare body), to how communication in the world of food can be a vehicle for fake news. Space will also be dedicated to analysing, in conjunction with food enterprises, how the latter are increasingly being called upon to engage in corporate social responsibility that ensures sustainable policies are adopted in the food world as well.
Two separate courses will be offered in the second year, allowing students to examine sustainability in the food sector, or innovation - the beating heart of a future which can help us improve what we decide to produce, even in the face of limited resources. Food design and Ip law will also be examined, along with potential for companies to adopt CRISPR technology.
To find out more about these examinations, please visit this link.The second year will also offer students the chance to organise an internship in partner companies of this project, which is the only one of its kind in Italy.
Enrolments will open next summer for Italian students, and in May for foreign students. One scholarship will be available for students from European Union States, and another for students enrolling from non-EU countries.
For more information, please write to globalfoodlaw@unipr.itor follow us and get in touch via LinkedIn and Instagram.
The Master of Laws in “Global Food Law: Sustainability Challenges and Innovation” (LM SC-GIUR). The course aims at training professionals specialised in the food sector, analysing the challenges deriving from sustainability needs and innovation in the agri-food sector from legal, political, sociological and economic perspectives.
INTERNSHIPS
Students enrolled in the second year of the programme can carry out a curricular internship at the project’s partnering businesses, with duration/lasting not less than 150 hours.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
- Management and control specialist in public administrations;
- Management, development and control specialist in private enterprises;
- Legal expert in enterprises;
- Legal expert in public entities.
Frequent questions
Admission to the Master's Degree Course requires possession of a three-year university degree, a Bachelor's degree, a single-cycle degree or a four-year degree obtained at Italian universities or an academic qualification obtained abroad and deemed equivalent to a Bachelor's degree.
Students holding the following qualifications are admitted directly to the Master's Degree Course:
(a) knowledge of the English language at a level of at least B2
and
b) a university degree obtained, with a score of at least 100/110, in the following Classes:
LMG/01 Class of Single-cycle Master's Degrees in Law;
L-14 (DM 270/04) Legal services sciences and 02 (DM 509/99) Legal services sciences;
L-16 (D.M. 270/04) Administration and Organisation Sciences and 19 (D.M. 509/99) Administrative sciences;
L-18 (DM 270/04) Economics and business management sciences and 17 (DM 509/99) Economics and business management sciences;
L-33 (DM 270/04) Economic Sciences and 28 (DM 509/99) - Economic Sciences;
L-36 (D.M. 270/04) Political Science and International Relations and 15 (D.M. 509/99) Political Science and International Relations;
L-39 (DM 270/04) Social service and 06 (DM 509/99) – Social service sciences.
Students who do not have a B2 level knowledge of English and/or graduated in degree classes other than those indicated above and/or graduated in the degree classes indicated above with a mark below 100/110 should follow the instructions at the link https://corsi.unipr.it/en/cdlm-gfl/test-di-ammissione
For foreign graduates, who have obtained a degree in an academic system that does not use the ECTS system, or who hold other degrees, the verification of curricular requirements will be carried out by an Admission Committee considering the equivalence between the contents of the courses previously taken and those of the abovementioned sectors. These graduates may also be referred for verification of their personal preparation as indicated at the link: https://corsi.unipr.it/en/cdlm-gfl/test-di-ammissione
To be admitted to the Master's Degree Course, students must also have at least B2 knowledge of the English language, certified by the passing of examinations or other attitudinal activities within a university context, or attested by language certificates issued by extra-university organisations. Lacking this requirement, admission is subject to verification of knowledge of the English language as part of the personal preparation test.
It is possible to enrol before obtaining a bachelor's degree under the condition that the bachelor's degree is obtained by 31 March following the closing date for enrolment.
Students in possession of the following qualifications are admitted directly to the Master's Degree Course:
(a) knowledge of the English language at a level of at least B2
and
b) a university degree obtained, with a score of at least 100/110, in the following Classes:
LMG/01 Class of Single-cycle Master's Degrees in Law;
L-14 (DM 270/04) Legal services sciences and 02 (DM 509/99) Legal services sciences;
L-16 (D.M. 270/04) Administration and Organisation Sciences and 19 (D.M. 509/99) Administrative sciences;
L-18 (DM 270/04) Economics and business management sciences and 17 (DM 509/99) Economics and business management sciences;
L-33 (DM 270/04) Economic Sciences and 28 (DM 509/99) - Economic Sciences;
L-36 (D.M. 270/04) Political Science and International Relations and 15 (D.M. 509/99) Political Science and International Relations;
L-39 (DM 270/04) Social service and 06 (DM 509/99) – Social service sciences.
Students who do not have a B2 level knowledge of English and/or graduates in degree classes other than those indicated above and/or graduates in the degree classes indicated above with a mark of less than 100/110 should follow the instructions at the link: https://corsi.unipr.it/en/cdlm-gfl/test-di-ammissione
For foreign graduates, who have obtained a degree with a non-CFU system, or who hold other degrees, the verification of curricular requirements will be carried out by an Admission Committee considering the equivalence between the contents of the courses taken and those of the sectors indicated above. These graduates may also be referred for verification of their personal preparation as indicated at the link: https://corsi.unipr.it/en/cdlm-gfl/test-di-ammissione
The following teachings are compulsory:
First Year:
Italian and Comparative Constitutional Law on Food "In-security"
Italian and Comparative Constitutional Law on Food "In-security"
Module:
Agenda 2030 as Global Constitutional Law - IUS/08 (6 ECTS)
Comparative Food Law between Security and Innovation - IUS/21 (6 ECTS)
Food Law and Agriculture EU Policy
EU Law for Food Safety, Sustainability and Climate Change
Food Business Operators and Private Law: Liability, Contracts, Competition
Global Trade Law and Food Design
Module:
Global Trade Law, International Commerce and Corporates’ Innovation (6 CFU)
Food Design and Intellectual Property Rights (6 CFU)
Cultural and Legal History of Food
Fundamentals of Food Sciences*
or
Economics of Innovation and Sustainability*
Second Year:
Food Employment Law
Food and Criminal Justice
Module:
Food, Crime and Law - IUS/17 (6 ECTS)
Investigative Power and Defensive Rights in Food
Related Criminal Proceedings - IUS/16 (6 ECTS)
Visits to organisations and companies/Seminars
or (only for foreign students)
"Italian Language for Foreigners"3
The following second-year teachings are elective:
1) Innovation in the Agri-food Sector
Food, Communication and Fake news
Animal Welfare
Administrative Law and Sustainable Energy in the Agri-Food Sector
Risk Assessment at the EU Level: The Role of EFSA
Economy of Value Chain
Sociology of Critical Food Consumption
Nudging, Behavioral Insights and Food Policy
Management Accounting
Climate Change, Food and Taxation
Novel Food Law in a Comparative Perspective: Cultured Meat and Beyond
Biotecnology and Food Safety: Constitutional Principles from GMO to Crispr
Law of the Wine Sector
Consumer Behaviour
OR
2) Sustainability and Food Systems
Food, Communication and Fake News
Economic History of Europe and European Food
Food Rituality and Cultural Justice
Food Regimes and International Security
Food Law and Health Protection: A Comparative Perspective
Administrative Law and Sustainable Energy in the Agri-Food Sector
Circular Economy, Materials and Waste
Economy of Value Chain
Sociology of Critical Food Consumption
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Agri-Food Sector
Trade Union Relations in Food Industry
Management Accounting
Climate Change, Food and Taxation
Food Sustainability, International Security and Human Rights
Food Advertising and Labelling Regulation
Cibus, Food in Roman Law and Society
Here are the plan: https://www.foodforfuture.unipr.it/corso
It is possible to enrol in single courses to meet the admission requirements: https://www.unipr.it/singoli-insegnamenti
There is no minimum number of participants for the start of classes
All examinations will be taken in English
It is possible to register on a part-time basis: https://corsi.unipr.it/en/cdlm-gfl/insegnamenti-e-piano-degli-studi
Online lessons are delivered via Microsoft Teams.
Teaching materials will be distributed via the Elly platform.
The traineeship attributes 6 ECTS amongst elective activities. It lasts 150 hours and may be carried out in international mobility.
The thesis must be discussed in English. Upon supervisor’s agreement, the thesis may be written in another language; however, the final examination (discussion) will still be held in English.
Employment opportunities range from the public to the private sector, in particular in the positions of Legal Officer and Legal Advisor expert in Food Law, sustainable development and innovation in public administration, for-profit and non-profit enterprises and in the professional world. Armed with a solid legal background with an interdisciplinary slant, the graduate in “Global Food Law: Sustainability, Challenges and Innovation” will be able to work as:
- Management and control specialist in Public Administration;
- Specialist in management, development and control in private companies;
- Legal expert in enterprises;
- Legal expert in public bodies.