Professional profile and employment opportunities for graduates
Professional profile: NATURAL PRODUCTS CHEMIST
Function in a professional context and competences:
Functions
Graduates will work as chemists with a solid grounding in both basic and applied chemistry as it relates to natural substances, using innovative techniques for the use and valorisation of natural matrices. They will be able to work in research or production laboratories, also in management roles. Their chemical and technological training will enable them to collaborate with chemical engineers, industrial chemists, biotechnologists and biologists. The interdisciplinary skills developed during the programme will allow graduates to take on positions of responsibility in research and development.
Competences
Graduates are chemists with expert knowledge of the chemistry of natural substances found in plant and other matrices, skilled in their isolation, structural characterisation, analysis and transformation. This is underpinned by a solid grounding in all fundamental and applied aspects of chemistry (inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, food chemistry), supplemented by knowledge of environmental and sustainable chemistry, as well as process development, scale-up and green technology. Graduates are chemists with the chemical and technological skills to valorise biomass generated by the agri-food industry, which represents a renewable and cost-effective source of bioactive molecules that can be incorporated into food products, animal feed and cosmetic products. Graduates may also work as self-employed professionals or consultants, and in scientific dissemination in the field of natural substances, drawing on broad and varied skills that extend to sustainable approaches in the technological processes for recovering bioactive molecules from processing waste.
Their career prospects are primarily in the food industry and in companies operating in the supplements and natural substances sector for the production of bioactive molecules for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical purposes. They are able to:
-apply chemical and technological procedures and methods for the extraction, transformation and formulation of natural substances from natural matrices; - set up and carry out chemical, microbiological and technological quality controls on natural substances and complex matrices;
-apply chemical, biochemical, microbiological, toxicological and technological procedures and methods for stability studies, efficacy assessment and safety evaluation of formulations containing natural substances;
-extract natural substances from biomass or from waste materials generated by the agri-food industry for use in further transformations and processes;
-oversee laboratory activities ensuring compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), and oversee production activities ensuring compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP);
-draw up or contribute to the development of the company's Quality Management System in accordance with current regulations;
-prepare scientific, informational and outreach documentation for effective corporate communication relating to natural products.
Employment opportunities:
Graduates in Chemistry and Technology for the Valorisation of Natural Substances can pursue their careers at:
-companies operating in the natural substances sector;
-cosmetic and agri-food companies;
-public and private analytical and commodity testing laboratories;
-bodies responsible for developing technical standards or quality certification;
-universities and public and private research institutions;
-science communication and dissemination agencies;
-self-employed professional practice and consultancy.
Graduates may also further develop their skills and expertise by pursuing PhD programmes or second-level master's degrees.
