17 students from 13 countries were recently awarded diplomas from the Swiss Institute of Feed Technology in Uzwil, Switzerland, following completion of a specialist course in feed manufacturing technology.

Students from 13 countries were recently awarded diplomas from the Swiss Institute of Feed Technology (SFT) in Uzwil, Switzerland, following completion of a specialist course in feed manufacturing technology. The course was the 33rd organized by the Institute.

21 participants started the Diploma course in spring 2015 to become feed production engineers, and 17 successfully completed their training. Norwegian Aina-Elin Karlsen from EWOS became the ninth women to gain a diploma, proving that animal feed production is no longer a pure men’s domain, according to SFT’s director Ernst Nef.

Awarding students their diplomas, which followed ten-months of intensive training, Ernst Nef stressed the significance of lifelong continuing education, and praised them for their decision to continue their studies.

“With this decision, you took up a big challenge, which you have now successfully mastered. Today you have reached the summit. With the acquired knowledge and your great dedication, you are now equipped with the tools you need to meet the high requirements for a safe and economical production of formulated feeds,” he said.

In line with a long-standing tradition, the SFT distinguished the student with the highest final score. This year’s distinction went to the Brazilian Leonardo Miyata, who works for Bühler AG in Joinville, Brazil.

Ernst Nef is to retire at the end of 2015 and will be replaced by Daniel Müller. He was thanked for his immense dedication and efforts and presented with an original cow bell from Appenzell.

The Feed Production Engineer Diploma course starts in spring with a 15-week preparatory correspondence course, followed by a four-week intensive course in Uzwil. A second 15-week correspondence course follows, with final intensive training again in Uzwil. Students work through 21 subject areas and must pass 14 written examinations. The highlight and finale of each block are two oral examinations in the core subjects in front of a panel of experts.

The 34th Specialist Course in Feed Manufacturing Technology starts in January 2016 and the working language will be German.