By: Marta Albiol Tapia

Is this your first online conference and you are feeling a little lost? Are you a student wanting to support and meet other students in this virtual event? Here are five tips to get started as a student in SHIFT20!

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1. Support Students by Attending the Grad Student Oral Competition for your Division (find them under the ‘Social Events’ tab!)

Competition Events include Speed Networking and/or Virtual Socials.

Monday Competitions and Socials

• Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, Foodservice and Product Development Divisions Joint Social: Mon July 13^th 12:00 – 1:30pm CST (With two invited speakers!)
• Aquatic Products Division Social: Mon July 13^th 6:00 – 8:00pm CST
• Carbohydrate Division Social: Mon July 13^th 6:00 – 7:45pm CST
• Dairy Foods Division Social: Mon July 13^th 6:00 – 8:00pm CST (Includes Happy Hour and Dairy Trivia!)
• Muscle Foods Division Social: Mon July 13^th 6:00 – 7:00pm CST (With Trivia & Scavenger Hunt!)
• Protein Division Social: Mon July 13^th 6:00 – 8:00pm CST

Tuesday Competitions and Socials

• Toxicology & Safety Evaluation, Quality Management and Food Laws & Regulations Divisions Luncheon: Tue July 14^th 12:00 – 1:00pm CST
• International Division Social: Tue July 14^th 3:00 – 4:00pm CST
• Biotechnology, Food Microbiology and Fruit & Vegetable Products Divisions Joint Social: Tue July 14^th 6:00 – 8:00pm CST
• Food Chemistry Division Social: Tue July 14^th 6:00 – 8:15pm CST
• Food Packaging, Food Engineering and Nonthermal Processing Divisions Joint Social: Tue July 14^th 6:00 – 8:00pm CST
• Marketing, Sales and Management Division Social: Tue July 14^th 6:00 – 8:00pm CST (Pictionary Activity Included!)
• Sensory & Consumer Sciences Division Social: Tue July 14^th 6:00 – 8:00pm CST

Wednesday Competitions and Socials

• Nutraceutical & Functional Foods, Education Extension & Outreach and Nutrition Divisions Joint Luncheon: Wed July 15^th 12:00 – 1:30pm CST

You may also be interested in the LGBTQ+ Social on Wed July 15^th 6:00 – 7:00pm CST.

2. Check out the Poster Sessions

Students have worked hard all year to create their posters, so make sure to watch and follow your favorites! Filter by division or by competition finalists. The “search label test” option is helpful if you want to search by keyword, or to find posters from a specific institution!

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3. Visit the IFTSA Lounge (find it under the ‘Rooms’ tab)

In this room, you will find information about:

• IFTSA Trivia Night on Tue July 14^th 8:15 – 10:00pm CST (the winning team will receive their IFT membership fees for free!)
• A call for blog writers for Science Meets Food
• IFTSA Virtual Recipe Book aimed at sharing recipes from all over the world and inspiring you to try foods you may never have tried before

… and many more!

4. Check out the Scientific Sessions and Watch a Few Presentations!

Here are some suggestions that may be interesting to you:

• Communicating Science through Storytelling (Professional Development)
• How to Make More Money and Travel the World as a Graduate Student (Professional Development)
• Flavor Associated Applications in Health and Wellness Products (Science and Technology)
• Plant-Based Foods: Designing Ingredient, Formulation, and Consumer Opportunities from the Ground Up (Science and Technology)
• Developing Countries: Food Science in Action…or Inaction? (Health and Nutrition)
• Going Keto: Discovering the What, the Who, and the How of the Keto Friendly Diet (Health and Nutrition)

To explore more topics, make sure to check all the tabs including Food Safety & Security, Sustainability, Innovation, and more!

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5. Attend some Featured Sessions

• If you want to know how the food system is impacting our global economy and future security, you can’t miss SHIFT20 Keynote: April Rinne (Mon July 13^th 9:30 – 10:30am CST)
• If you are interested in a discussion on how to solve today’s issues of nutrition scarcity, join Striving for the Equitable Distribution of Nutrition (Tue July 14^th 11:00am – 12:00pm CST)
• If a product development hackathon sounds like a fun plan to you, make sure to join Hacking Millennial and Gen Z tastes (Wed July 13^th 2:00 – 5:00pm CST)

Find more Featured Sessions here!

And most importantly, ENJOY SHIFT20!

P.S. Don’t forget to check us out on social media: Instagram (@iftstudent) and Facebook (IFTSA), and to explore IFT COVID-19 Resources and Information.

Marta Albiol Tapia | Linkedin

SMF Blog Manager

Marta obtained her B.S. in Food Science and Technology from Universitat Politècnica de València, in Spain. During her undergraduate studies, she spent two semesters abroad in Wageningen Universiteit in The Netherlands, and one semester at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where she is now a Ph.D. student. Her research focuses on sensory science methodology, specifically on context effect of environmental and sample differences in consumer testing of beverages. Marta has a passion for food science and nutrition education and she will often make time to work on educational projects, professional volunteering and field trips. In her free time, you will find her watching YouTube videos. In extended periods of free time, you will most likely find her in Spain.