About IFSTAL

Interdisciplinary Food Systems Teaching and Learning (IFSTAL) is a learning programme and community designed to develop knowledge, understanding and skills for transforming the food system. Our programme:

• Brings together the expertise and experience of faculty and students from seven UK higher education institutions
• Uses a blended learning approach with online units complemented by in-person and interactive workshops
• Connects with the workplace via events, opportunities and speakers
• Runs an annual summer school based around live workplace projects

Our programme is open, all-inclusive and independent. We aim to provide as many different perspectives and representations as possible in our work. Collaboration with different and multiple workplace organisations does not mean that we endorse their policies.

Origins

IFSTAL is the brainchild of Dr John Ingram and Professor Tim Lang who, back in 2014 recognised the need for a workforce of “food systems analysts”. Their idea was developed in collaboration with workplace collaborators and an expert Advisory Group. Initial funding from the then organisation Higher Education Funding Council England provided the springboard for the development of the programme by our collaborating partners and the launch to our first cohort in September 2015.

• The rationale for IFSTAL is outlined in our paper in Exchanges: the Warwick Research Journal: Training Future Actors in the Food System (published April 2017).
• The challenges to teaching across academic boundaries are described in: Reed, K., Collier, R., White, R., Wells, R., Ingram, J., Borelli, R., Heasler, B., Caraher, M., Lang, T., Arnall, A. and Gonzalez, R., 2017. Training Future Actors in the Food System: a new collaborative cross-institutional, interdisciplinary training programme for students. Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal, 4(2): 201-218.
• The challenges to teaching across academic boundaries are described in: Ajates Gonzalez, R., 2017, June. Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning: overcoming disciplinary and teaching silos to fix the food system. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances (pp. 503-510). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València.
• The power of a workforce of food systems analysts: Ingram, J., Ajates, R., Arnall, A., Blake, L., Borrelli, R., Collier, R., de Frece, A., Häsler, B., Lang, T., Pope, H. and Reed, K., 2020. A future workforce of food-system analysts. Nature Food, 1(1): 9-10.
• A pedagogical model for food systems literacy: Pope, H., De Frece, A., Wells, R., Borrelli, R., Ajates, R., Arnall, A., Blake, L.J., Dadios, N., Hasnain, S., Ingram, J. and Reed, K., 2021. Developing a functional food systems literacy for interdisciplinary dynamic learning networks. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5: 747627.

Participating institutions

University of Oxford

The Environmental Change Institute at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, has an internationally recognised track record in food systems research, with special emphasis on the interactions with environmental change. The group runs an MSc elective module on food systems.

City St George’s, University of London

The Centre for Food Policy at City St George's University of London is an interdisciplinary centre dedicated to improving food policy worldwide, exploring how the food system really works in practice. The research is rooted in findings from the field, so grounded in a practical reality that enables the centre to develop clear policy recommendations.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)

LSHTM is renowned for its research, postgraduate studies and continuing education in public and global health.

The School has an international presence and collaborative ethos, and is uniquely placed to help shape health policy and translate research findings into tangible impact. There are 3,000 staff conducting research in over 100 countries, and more than 4,000 students — all working with a collective purpose to improve health worldwide.

Royal Veterinary College (RVC)

The Royal Veterinary College is the oldest and largest veterinary school in the UK and one of the leading research and educational institutions on livestock food systems in the world, with expertise and research outputs on topics as wide ranging and diverse as animal and human health and welfare, infectious diseases, food safety, sustainable production, epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance. The RVC has also been a long-standing contributor to interdisciplinary education and research through its One Health and Agrihealth portfolio.

SOAS University of London

SOAS University of London specialises in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East. SOAS scholars grapple with the pressing issues confronting two-thirds of humankind today: democracy, development, economy, finance, public and corporate policy, human rights, migration, identity, legal systems, poverty, religion, and social change.

University of Reading

Research at the University of Reading is focused on addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time, organized around four key themes: agriculture, food and health; environment; heritage and creativity; and prosperity and resilience. The Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Reading is a global player in food and health research. It has one of the UK’s largest academic food processing pilot plants, state-of-the-art facilities, strong industry partnerships, and expert researchers who work with partners both in the UK and globally to influence both policy and practice to ensure evidence-informed decision making. 

University of Warwick

Food and the food system are the focus of research and teaching in a number of departments at the University of Warwick. Research areas include food policy, modelling the spread of livestock diseases, the history of food and drink, and food insecurity at the household level. Warwick Crop Centre is part of the University’s School of Life Sciences and is an internationally recognised centre for translational research in sustainable agriculture and horticulture, with a particular focus on vegetables. Taught courses at Warwick include an MSc in Food Security and BaSC and MaSC courses in Global Sustainable Development. There are a wide range of opportunities for PhD research.

How we are governed

A collaboration agreement is agreed to and signed each year by the participating institutions. A Programme Committee meeting is held quarterly and we are in the process of establishing an Alumni Advisory Group.