NorVicFoods
A new agri-food knowledge translation venture
The NorVicFoods venture
Established in June 2021, the NorVicFoods venture (NVFv) is designed to strengthen the agri-food innovation system in the Hume region of Victoria. It listens and engages deeply with businesses in the region and draws on University of Melbourne expertise to solve issues faced by agri-food businesses in the value chain to build skills, create jobs and increase economic prosperity.
The purpose-built venture aims to create high-value jobs in the region over four years empowering the community with the knowledge, skills and resources to develop tangible solutions to challenges in the agri-food sector.
Based in the Goulburn Valley, NorVicFoods has been established to bring together research and innovation in science, technology, engineering and policy to enhance the Hume region’s agri-food businesses and deliver economic value to the area.
Our partners
Support for innovation
As part of the venture, NorVicFoods projects (NVFp) will develop solutions to specific innovation challenges by drawing on academic expertise and intellectual property within the University. The venture will also include opportunities for driven, enthusiastic staff and students. Learnings from these projects will be used to secure support for other resources and to implement innovative solutions at commercial scale.
NorVicFoods invites agri-food businesses to submit an application for support to solve a specific innovation challenge.
Support might include:
- Arranging internships and work-based learning programs
- Providing relevant services in information and agricultural technology
- Arranging relevant services through national delivery partners and international collaborators
Latest news and events
How to apply
We will shortly be seeking further expressions of interest from organisations interested in working with us in a NorVicFoods project. To apply, please complete this application form.
Application form (PDF 128.0 KB)
Benefits of collaboration
Collaborating with NorVicFoods through a project will give your company or organisation access to a broad range of the expertise and capabilities in the University of Melbourne, and specifically in disciplines that are relevant to the agri-food industry. This capability and expertise will develop solutions to maximise your business outcomes, and may include:
- Access to leading edge technology
- Managing innovation in-house
- Identifying, protecting and leveraging Intellectual Property
- Knowledge exchange techniques
- Securing resources for knowledge-based innovation
- Improving plant growth and development
- Improving animal growth and development
- Accessing agronomic expertise
- Expertise in animal and plant processing for food
- Food packaging
- Food marketing
- Food quality and safety management in long value chains
- IT applications for food value chains
- AI applications in food value chains
- Expertise in sustainable food production intensification
- Advice in adapting food production systems to climate variability and climate change
Eligibility
To be eligible for a NorVicFoods project, organisations must be:
- Companies or community organisations operating in the Hume region of Victoria
- Engaged in some aspect of the agriculture and food value chain, including export logistics
- Interested in incorporating new-to-the-organisation innovations into their business, especially digital innovation that adopts new science and technology
- Interested and able to host groups of student interns safely for up to four weeks to work on the innovation (expenses paid by NorVicFoods)
- Willing to have some aspects of the innovation project shared publicly with other members of the Hume agriculture and food community
- Willing to work with the University of Melbourne and its collaborators to document the outcomes of the project for reporting and teaching purposes.
Selection criteria and process
The University of Melbourne welcomes applications from eligible organisations and will utilise an Expert Panel to help assess the best projects for support.
Projects will be assessed against the eligibility criteria, and the project’s likelihood of returning significant benefits to the Hume region of Victoria, the degree of innovation involved in the project, alignment with the teaching and learning objectives of the NVFv, alignment with the University of Melbourne’s accelerated innovation objectives, and opportunities offered by the project to engage with the culturally and linguistically diverse community of the Hume.
NorVicFoods statements relevant to each of these criteria can be found in this FAQs document (PDF 236.4 KB), or are are available upon request via contact-norvicfoods@unimelb.edu.au.
Feedback on unsuccessful applications will be provided, but the final decision will be made by the University of Melbourne team.
Internships
NorVicFoods offers a range of unpaid internships for Masters students currently enrolled through the University of Melbourne. The internships are offered through a number of agri-food businesses located within the Hume region.
Internships provide students with opportunities to gain hands-on work experience while they apply the knowledge and skills they've developed.
All costs involved with the internships are fully covered (transport, accommodation and reasonable meal expenses).
Internships will be run during semester and travel to the Hume region is expected for a few days as part of the internship.
For students to apply please send your resume and a cover letter detailing what you are studying, why you want to be considered for an agri-food internship and what industry you are most interested in.
Scholarship updates
NorVicFoods has fully sponsored two PhD students - Wenan Cai and Natalie Harris.
We have also sponsored a Masters in Philosphy student - Ashwin Srikanth and provided some grants to Haotong Yu and So Young Ku.
Case study: Akshaya Suresh
Akshaya, a final-year Master of Food Science student at the University of Melbourne, undertook her internship with NorVicFoods over the 2020 summer semester.
Are you interested in working with us?
To apply for an internship position or PhD please send your resume and cover letter to contact-norvicfoods@unimelb.edu.au
Contact details
For further details or if you have any queries, please get in touch with us.
Email: contact-norvicfoods@unimelb.edu.au
To stay up to date with NorVicFoods, follow us online.
Web: science.unimelb.edu.au/norvicfoods
Twitter: @FoodsVic
Key staff
Lisa Birrell
Executive Manager of NorVicFoods
Phone: +61 421 590 404
Email: lisa.birrell@unimelb.edu.au