Food Protection Trends - November/December 2023 - 570

The voting process for the Board members was
discussed, with appreciation expressed for the
participation of 14 candidates and the 75 votes cast.
Attendees were urged to sign up for IAFP Connect
to familiarize themselves with the Student PDG.
Instructions were provided to visit the IAFP website,
access IAFP Connect, and follow along the Dashboard
for updates and information. Volunteer activities within
IAFP Connect were emphasized, and attendees were
encouraged to volunteer for the upcoming annual
meeting. Following the Student PDG on LinkedIn was
also recommended.
Several achievements and initiatives of the
Student PDG were highlighted. These included the
successful 3MT competition, where 11 videos were
submitted, featuring 7 competitors from 3 countries,
and judged by 8 individuals. The winner of the
competition would be announced at the luncheon,
with gratitude expressed to the sponsor, Phi Tau
Sigma. The availability of student liaison opportunities
was mentioned that provides valuable networking
experiences and attendees were informed that a total
of 42 student liaison positions had been assigned this
year. The Meet Your Favorite Food Scientist initiative
was introduced as an open forum for students to
engage with renowned scientists from government,
industry, and academia. The mentor-mentee program
was also emphasized as a means of support for
students. It was noted that the Student PDG opened
an Instagram account last year to highlight volunteer
opportunities, events, webinar information, and more.
The mentor-mentee program was also emphasized as
a means of support for students.
An overview of yearlong events and webinars
organized on an international platform was provided,
with encouragement for students to engage with
local affiliates. The reintroduction of the T-shirt was
celebrated with a design competition with more than
450 votes for 8 shirt design submissions. Attendees
were encouraged to visit the student booth 439.
The initiation of newsletters was acknowledged as a
new way to disseminate information about past and
upcoming events. The success of several webinars,
specifically targeting domestic and international
students, was recognized.
Congratulations were extended to recipients of the
student travel scholarship, and all attendees were
encouraged to apply for future opportunities.
All the 2022-2023 sponsors and partners: 3-A
Sanitary Standards, Inc., BCN Research Laboratories,
Inc., Capital Area Food Protection Association, Chobani,
Conagra Brands, Jennifer McEntire, Merck Animal
Health, New York State Association for Food Protection,
Ontario Food Protection Association, OSI Group, Texas
Roadhouse, Inc., and Wisconsin Association for Food
Protection were acknowledged. Appreciation was
expressed to the staff, scientists, 3MT judges, students
and Board members for their contributions.
570 Food Protection Trends November/December
New Business: In the annual meetings, two
sessions (S15 and RT21) are being sponsored and
co-sponsored by SPDG. SPDG activities (luncheon
and mixer) for the annual meeting were announced
and ideas for fall and spring events were requested
from the attendees. The continuation of the " Meet Your
Favorite Food Scientist " initiative was highlighted, with
attendees encouraged to provide scientist suggestions.
The importance of highlighting student achievements
and activities on LinkedIn was stressed, along with the
continuation of virtual coffee hours.
The session monitoring process was explained,
and attendees were thanked for signing up. Detailed
reminders regarding the process were provided, with
any queries directed to the IAFP staff. The possibility
of organizing more webinars was discussed as an
alternative for those topics which may not have been
accepted for symposia or roundtables.
Recommendations to the Executive Board:
1. Recommend approval of Ivannova Lituma
for Vice-Chair of the Student PDG.
2. Recommend having a medium affordable
luncheon rate for new professionals along with
promoting the inclusion of new professionals in
luncheon and mixer.
3. Recommend providing guidelines or maybe
a social media series for first-time attendees at
IAFP on getting more involved with SPDG and
other networking opportunities at IAFP.
4. Recommend a webinar on career-related
visas, building on a previous visa-related
webinar for professional scientists.
5. Recommend a webinar on providing
valuable tips and information on how to attract
and engage audience specially focused for
those students without teaching backgrounds.
6. Recommend webinars for new professionals
discussing how to continue maintaining
networking with IAFP.
7. Recommend webinar on writing manuscripts
and ideas on networking opportunities
with prominent industry professionals.
8. Recommend to issue certificates for the
3MT competition winners and finalists.
Next Meeting Date: July 14, 2024, Long Beach,
California.
Meeting Adjourned: 12 p.m. Eastern Time.
Chairperson: Ellen Mendez Sosa.
Viral and Parasitic Foodborne Diseases
Attendees: Kristen Gibson (Chair), Sonia Almeria
(Vice-Chair), Grace Akumu, Courtney Aminirad,
Mariem Amri, Akshaya Balaji, Patrick Bird, Preetha
Biswas, Brittany Cooksey, Brenna DeRocili, Doris
D'Souza, Monica Santin-Duran, Mauricio Durigan,
Food Protection Trends - November/December 2023

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