Photo: cold atmospheric plasma threatment (photo credit: Foodgalaxy)

Earlier workshops alternated between USA and European locations and lately, because of the growing worldwide interest in nonthermal processing technologies, several countries outside the US and Europe have been organizing and hosting these workshops.

Want to host this workshop?

Any group interested in organizing and hosting an EFFoST / IFT-NPD Workshop is required to submit a written proposal to the IFT-NPD/EFFoST Joint Workshop Committee, in accordance with the instructions given in these guidelines.

Guidelines to Prepare EFFoST / IFT-NPD Workshop Proposals

Those interested in hosting a workshop in a given year should have informal consultations with IFT-NPD and/or EFFoST well in advance prior to the proposed workshop. All groups interested in organizing and hosting workshops should submit a proposal to IFT-NPD and/or EFFoST Executive Committees for consideration following the schedule included in this document

The proposal should include the following:

The proposal should include the following:

1. 1. Host Organization and Venue options: The proposal should identify the city, country, host organization(s), and venue options where the proposed workshop would take place (university, research center, convention center, hotel, etc.) and local hotels for attendee lodging during the workshop. The proposal should articulate the rationale, logistics and justification for the proposed site (costs, location, guided visits to places of professional interest, accessibility).
   2. Workshop start-up title: If the workshop is organized in the US, the workshop title should read at the beginning “IFT-EFFoST” whereas if it is organized in an EFFoST (European) country it should read “EFFoST-IFT”. If the workshop is organized in other countries the decision to use either “IFT-EFFoST” or “EFFoST-IFT” is left to the Joint Committee.
   3. Tentative dates:  The proposal should provide 2 or 3 options for dates for the workshop. It is important to offer flexibility in order to maximize attendance and participation. The proposing organization should make efforts to avoid potential conflicts with other events, holidays, and vacation times occurring in different parts of the world. The proposal should provide a justification for the chosen dates and times. Additionally, deadlines for participants to submit abstracts should be clearly indicated to ensure a maximum quality event.
   4. Budget:  This essential component is necessary to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed workshop.  This budget should include estimates of sponsorship, registration fees with a clear break-down of what is covered (and pro-rated amounts for students and professionals from academia, industry, and government agencies), the number of expected participants, the number of invited speakers, the anticipated level of support provided to invited speakers, facility usage costs, and all other pertinent items.

Additional comments:

1. 1. 1. 1. • All attendees should pay a registration fee.
            • The local host is responsible for handling any profit or loss.
            • If incomes exceed all workshop expenses, the local host is encouraged to distribute profits as follows:  50% to the host institution and 50% to EFFoST / IFT-NPD to support future workshops.
            • Information about the workshop should be disseminated at all times on a dedicated website. Other tools for dissemination should include brochures, booklets, CDs, memory sticks, and the costs should be included in the budget.

5. Theme(s): The workshop should have, at least, one well-identified them  This theme should be centered on a current hot-topic of interest to the nonthermal processing community, appeal to individuals with different backgrounds (food microbiologists, food engineers, food scientists, food processors, equipment manufacturers, regulatory agencies, etc.), and apply to as many nonthermal technologies as possibl  The theme should be different from recent workshops and other nonthermal processing related conferences.
6. Beneficiaries:  It is important to clearly identify the expected audience as well as local/regional professional associations involved in the organization of the workshop.  The workshop should give the opportunity for ample participation of individuals from academia including students; industry, both food processors and equipment manufacturers; and selected government agencies.
7. The proposal should identify an overall lead organizer/host that will be responsible for the workshop.  The lead workshop organizer will serve as the liaison between the local organizers and IFT-NPD/EFFoST Joint Workshop Committee.
8. The lead workshop organizer, in consultation with EFFoST / IFT-NPD Joint Workshop Committee, has to form and clearly identify the members of an International Scientific Committee and of a Local Organizing Committee. The International Scientific Committee will help the lead organizer in recommending qualified speakers for various sessions, reviewing technical poster presentation abstracts, and judging graduate student posters. We recommend about 12 members for the International Scientific Committee.  The Joint Workshop Committee, will designate two-thirds of the Scientific Committee Members.  The other third of the members will be appointed at the discretion of the host to balance the needs of the local organization. It is recommended to invite the lead organizer of the previous and future workshop to join the Scientific Committee to share and carry over learnings from the past. The Local Organizing Committee may choose to form a separate industry committee for fund raising purposes and reviewing the impact of the scientific program within the industrial sector.
9. Workshop duration and format:  The workshop shall last 2-3 days, and it should include oral and posters presentations, break-out sessions focusing on relevant hot topics (e.g. barriers to industrial adoption of nonthermal technologies), and sum-up sessions. The workshop should also feature a brief oral presentation during the sum-up session introducing the next workshop. An alternative to break-out and sum-up sessions is to organize panel sessions.
10. Marketing Strategy:  It is required to indicate how the workshop will be promoted and what efforts will be made to secure the expected attendance.
11. Short Course: the proposal should indicate whether a one-day short course will be organized back-to-back with the workshop.  If this is the case, the contents of this course and potential lecturers should be identified in the proposal.

Feedback surveys  

The organizers should provide on-site evaluations forms to all participants soon after the conclusion of the workshop.  These evaluations are essential to improve the quality of future workshops and to identify the value to the attendees. The summary of the survey should be shared with the Executive Committees of IFT-NPD and EFFoST no later than 3 months after the workshop.

Timetable

For planning and proposing a workshop submission to the EFFoST / IFT-NPD Joint Workshop Committee.