National Technical University of Athens

02 August 2022

National Technical University of Athens
Athens, Greece

THE INNOVATION:

The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) is raising awareness of lyceum students on innovations in food area including personalized nutrition and alternative proteins through webinars and visits at the university lab or webinars. By engaging students with
these topics, innovative solutions can be developed for emerging markets, and to address global trends, and young people can be encouraged to participate in these important industries of the future. The NTUA aims to ensure food security in national level and give technologies to Greek food industry that will help them to be competitive, profitable, and sustainable.

LOOKING AHEAD:

NTUA dreams of it’s research group becoming one of the most active in the field of personalized nutrition and alternative proteins (maturing). It strives to be a knowledge lighthouse for these urgent food industry and food security issues at national level. NTUA will be a food technology innovation hub.

More Information:
Website: www.ntua.gr/en/
Contact Person: Sofia Papadaki

Info about the Innovators and the Innovation portraits Catalogue

FoodSHIFT 2030 aims to launch an ambitious citizen-driven transition of the European food system towards a low carbon circular future, including a shift to less meat and more plant based diets. This transition is necessary in order to address the pressing challenges for food and nutrition security, contribute to the EU commitment of reducing GHG emissions by at least 40% by 2030, and revitalize urban-rural linkages and partnerships.

To do so, it establishes FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs for maturing, combining, upscaling and multiplying existing food system innovations across nine front-runner city-regions. In turn these innovations contribute to the FoodSHIFT vision.

An Innovation Catalogue called “Innovation Portraits” was created to snapshot each of the Food Innovations connected with each of the FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs (FALs) across the 9 city regions.

Info about the Innovation Portraits Catalogue

The Innovation Catalogue will snapshot each of the Food Innovations connected with each of the FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs (FALs) across the 9 city regions. Each FAL has a dedicated innovation focus and each chapter will present innovation cases from a particular FAL. For each of the innovations presented, a snapshot of the innovation concept and purpose will be given, alongside the key impacts the innovation has in relation to the FoodSHIFT Impact Pathways and the acceleration ambitions of the innovation.

In addition, each innovation portrait is also categorized according to its Innovation Dimension. These dimensions indicate what kind of innovation is being presented, and where in the value chain it plays a role. This is indicated by these tabs. The dimensions are defined as follows:

Product – Innovations in this category address new or updated products, including quality, safety and market impact.

Process – These innovations are relevant to new technologies for processing, logistical improvements, infrastructure and new/improved services.

Social – Innovations in this category are relevant to changes in behaviour (e.g. consumers/citizens), development of new relationships and inclusiveness.

Governance – The innovations address policy developments, including food planning, subsidies, taxing, certificates & labelling.

Learn more about all the Innovation portraits: https://foodshift2030.eu/meet-the-people-changing-your-food-system/

Innovators

Our local FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs (FALs) have each identified 10 inspiring innovators from their city region that have developed sustainable solutions for the improvement of the food system in their area. Across these 90 innovators, there are diverse initiatives that are unique examples of how a food system can be transformed from the inside-out; ranging from Community Supported Agriculture, roof-top beekeeping, to fermented food projects. Read more information in the Innovation Portraits Knowledge Hub Post and view the full snapshot profiles of these innovators are provided in the Innovation Portraits.

FELLOW CITIES

Through the development of events, tool kits and resources in collaboration with research partners, the FoodSHIFT Accelerator Labs will share their approaches and inspire us all to join a food systems shift.