2019_01_18_FAR_nuin

Irene Nuin, a graduate in Pharmacy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics, has been selected to join the European Food Safety Authority' s (EFSA) Graduate Program, an EU body responsible for preserving food safety on the continent.

This program allows recent graduates to carry out paid internships from 6 months to one year at EFSA headquarters in Parma (Italy). In Irene's case, she will join the Food Ingredients and Packaging department at department for one year.

There she will be part of the team that evaluates enzymes and materials at contact with food, such as bisphenol A -a component that has been shown to be toxic in some cases-: "My work will consist of supporting the work groups in charge of carrying out the safety assessment of enzymes used in food (focused on toxicological aspects) or materials at contact with food", says Irene.

 This recent graduate in the double degree program of Pharmacy + Human Nutrition and Dietetics (2018) already opted for other stays abroad while studying both Degrees: "In fifth year I carried out, along with other classmates from class, the supervised pharmacy stays in London, specifically at Saint George's Hospital. I loved the experience and it was very enriching in all aspects, so I had in mind to look for another opportunity abroad". "In sixth grade," she goes on to explain, "Professor Ariane Vettorazzi gave us a session on employment opportunities of the dietitian-nutritionist in the framework of Food Safety. I discovered other options beyond the conventional outlets, such as the programs for recent graduates offered by organizations like EFSA. After the supervised internships in Nutrition, which I have carried out in the Clínica Universidad de Navarraand taking into account that I really liked Toxicology and Food Safety during the degree program, I decided to try to access this program, although I knew that there was a lot of skill to access it".

The selection process for a unique experience

After a process in which she had to demonstrate her knowledge of Toxicology and a Skype interview with EFSA representatives, she was selected. "Already in the stay at S. George's Hospital with a scholarship Erasmus + I enjoyed a lot. There we were able to participate in the work of the pharmacist in different areas, such as the dispensary, Cardiology, Neurology, Pediatrics, in the laboratory... We even did a one-week rotation in a prison. We loved working in such a multicultural environment and living in a city like London. I would definitely recommend overseas study periodto everyone," he stresses.

Starting next February, Irene will add to this experience a year of paid internship at EFSA: "In these twelve months I will continue to expand my training, now focused on assessment food safety in Europe. I think that working at EFSA will be a great opportunity to learn again in a multicultural environment, meet people of very different nationalities and careers, acquire a more global vision of our profession, improve my English and even dare to speak Italian", concludes the double graduate of School of Pharmacy and Nutrition.