 University College Birmingham Level 6 BSc students visited AB Mauri Centre of Excellence in Corby yesterday. UCB BSc student, Leandra Molina explains a bit more about the experience and how it will benefit her and fellow Level 6 students in the future: "UCB provides trips to Bakery students throughout the length of the course (at least one every year) including Fine Lady bakery, Heygates Flour Millers and Delifrance. This time was a visit to AB Mauri, and it has been the best experience I’ve ever had. AB Mauri was very welcoming by preparing a complete whole-day introduction. Activities ranged from a tour of their NPD department, to meeting room talks about ingredient functionality and the importance of enzymes within the baking industry. I had the opportunity to meet many members of the AB Mauri family and was thrilled by how knowledgeable and passionate they are. Product development director Jim Hawkridge and research development manager Matt Green talked about bread production and what kind of products they use in bread manufacturing, including bread improvers and sourdough cultures. Kevin Clark development manager on the sweet baked goods and Steve, with more than 14 years working at AB Mauri, focused on the essential ingredients and its functionality within sweet baked goods. We also met the HR manager, who gave a really motivational presentation on how important it is to discover ourselves and how we can work to improve our potential. Not only will this help us to stand out of the crowd when looking for a job, but will also benefit the industry by bringing our unique talents. It was amazing to go around and look at all the equipment AB Mauri have to develop and test their products. It was a pleasant surprise to realise how UCB labs are equipped with industry standard equipment and how as a student, I have already used most of them, from the bakery’s bread mixer to the lab’s texture analyser. AB Mauri also prepared a dynamic game, where we tasted and examined loaves of bread and cakes to highlight the importance of certain ingredients. We also met the entire R&D team, including UCB graduates Hannah Parry and Laura Underwood and Senior R&D Technologist Hanna Conneely. They talked about the importance of their role and how we, as students, can aim for that type of Job. Overall, it was an amazing experience to go to AB Mauri. I met lovely passionate people and saw that the baking industry is starting to open the doors to students that will soon become its future! Thank you, AB Mauri, for this motivational experience." UCB BSc student, Leandra Molina Fellow UCB Level 6 BSc student Megan Roberts also said: "We are always asked as students how the industry can engage more with students and our trip to AB Mauri was a perfect example. A learning experience for all, through a day of theory and practicals, we embraced who AB Mauri are as a company. For me it was a fantastic interactive learning experience that was fully engaged by both staff at AB Mauri and students from UCB. One of my favourite things was a career segment on how set yourself personal values and build your career, a very insightful piece for all students starting our career within the baking industry. I think we all owe a massive thanks to the organisers from UCB who set this up and all of the staff at AB Mauri for an unforgettable day." UCB BSc student, Megan Roberts Students were also given goody bags to take away with them which included a USB stick with all of the presentations from the day, to support them further with their studies. Images of Bread and Cake Fault activities in the ACE test bakery:
 
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 What is a Student Rep? We’ve had many questions come through about the specifics of the Student Rep role but fear no more because you’re about to find out.
As you may be aware each College/University now have their own ABST groups. These groups are designed to improve the communication within their own institution but also with the ABST. Therefore, the committee have decided to create a "Student Rep" role. Please see below the key points needed to be a successful student rep:
The blog! Each College/University will be assigned a month to write their blog. This doesn’t mean you write about what’s happened within that month, it just means that is when the blog will be posted. This is why it’s important to collate information throughout the year to make sure the blog is interesting and fun. It could include competitions that students have entered, new products created or even sharing what work experience you have been on. The deadline to apply for the Student Rep role is the 16th November, only two weeks to go! The link to apply is on the ABST Facebook Page or click the apply now button below. We look forward to hearing from you. Jess :) |
