For young people who will shape the food industry of tomorrow, direct contact with graduates and representatives of this field offers the most valuable lesson from which to understand the connection between the theory learned in college and the practical application of knowledge. A relevant question for any student in the food industry is: How is a chicken processing plant run, where every decision must take into account food safety, quality, technology, efficiency, and the people who make the entire system work? Radu Popa, Director of the TRANSAVIA Chicken Processing Plant, He brought this perspective to the students and graduates of the Faculty of Food Science and Technology (FSTA) at USAMV Cluj-Napoca at the 5th edition of the event. „Graduation Day – Career Fair”.
During the workshop „Today’s graduate, tomorrow’s entrepreneur”, As an alumnus, Radu joined the professionals and graduates invited to share their experiences and what it means, in practice, to build a career in the food industry. Radu explained to the students how the TRANSAVIA professionals transform technical knowledge and experience into concrete decisions every day, from controlling production parameters and adhering to the highest food safety and quality standards to identifying solutions that make processes more efficient and use resources more responsibly.
A „secret” that our colleague shared with the students was that as technologies evolve, new challenges arise that require not only what you learned in college, but also the ability to ask questions, understand what can be improved, and find solutions that textbooks still do not cover. It is therefore essential for students to acquire solid knowledge in college, but especially to learn how to apply it, how to transform theoretical concepts into practical solutions, and how to use what they know to understand and integrate new scientific technologies and discoveries. Radu Popa also emphasized the fact that in an industry where the pace of technological and scientific progress is increasingly accelerated, what you learn today represents the foundation, not the end, of professional preparation, and the difference will be made by the ability to continue learning, to adapt, and, above all, the desire to become better at what you do, regardless of how much experience you have already accumulated.
For young people facing their first professional decisions, the meeting was an opportunity to discover what lies beyond the classroom and laboratories: the responsibility of decisions, the challenges of a complex industrial environment, and how the knowledge acquired in college transforms into solutions applied daily. Certainly, some of the students present at this meeting will end up leading factories, developing technologies, or finding solutions to challenges that the food industry has yet to encounter. And the opportunity to discuss with those who make such decisions every day can provide them with a clearer perspective on the path they want to follow.
Thank you to the FSTA USAMV Cluj-Napoca team for the invitation and for the opportunity to bring industry experience closer to its future professionals, but also to the students for their curiosity, questions and interest in discovering what a career in the food industry entails, beyond theory!
