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Professor Dirk Fremaut, senior lecturer of the Department of Applied Life Sciences at Ghent University, has been using BESTMIX formulation software in his animal production classes since 1995. The curriculum first explains how linear programming works and how that translates into the formulation of feed. Students start from zero to prepare a complete feed, entering all the data into BESTMIX. The end result is a feed that meets the prescribed requirements.
Two years ago the University resolutely opted for the cloud via BESTMIX Formulation as a Service. According to Professor Fremaut, this version offers several major advantages: “The software is much easier to install. There is no longer any need for someone to come and install the software on the PCs in the classroom. Today everything is simply done via the cloud. Students can now carry out their exercises from anywhere on their laptop. The software is updated automatically so that we are always using the latest version.”
Each academic year some 50 students join the programme, around 10 of which are from abroad.
The strength of the Applied Life Sciences programme is its close collaboration with the industry. The entire flow is addressed: from theory via the composition of the feed to its actual production in our own mill. Students gain hands-on experience by formulating the recipes in BESTMIX and then actually producing them. The experience gained with a state-of-the-art formulation package is also a fantastic addition to their CV.
Dirk Fremaut
Unique to this campus are the four test installations: a bakery, a dairy industry, a mill and a brewery.
Tests are carried out every week in the mill, where batches of between 50 and 100 kg can be produced. Tests are performed, for example, to measure the stability of additives at different temperatures, to analyse the grain quality of a particular feed, etc. Ghent University is also an accredited animal feed lab.
The brewery produces its own brand, “Bijloke”. Many industry-related tests are also performed here, e.g. where in the process can gluten be removed to obtain a gluten-free beer? Ugent is also an accredited lab for the brewing industry. In that way, a brewery that wants to export a beer to China can have its beer analysed here.