The Graduating Project is a key component of the MFRE Program; it is a mandatory 6-credit academic course (FRE 547) where students work with real-world Industry Partners to address current business and economic opportunities and problems.
The Graduating Project occurs in Term 3, from May to August, so students can apply the knowledge and skills they’ve gained from Terms 1 and 2. The Graduating Projects provide MFRE students a competitive edge where they can manage their own project, access real-world Industry Partners, and gain valuable career experience, all while being supported by MFRE Faculty and Staff. Time and time again, MFRE Alumni recall the Graduating Project as a highlight in the one year MFRE program.
Graduating Project Highlights
The MFRE Program works closely with over 150 Industry Partners to source, develop and customize projects. As a result, graduating projects are:
- Targeted to meet industry needs and MFRE skills. MFRE develops and customizes the project scope so it can match the skillsets of MFRE students while addressing industry needs.
- Connected to the sector. MFRE works with a mix of over 150 food and environment government agencies, private businesses, start-ups, non-profit organizations and charities to maximize our impact in the sector.
- Relevant to real-world problems. MFRE develops the Graduating Projects in the same year that they are conducted, so students get access to current and relevant real-world problems.
- High-Quality: Every student receives 1-on-1 support from a UBC Faculty Supervisor and an Industry-specific Site Supervisor, to ensure students are equipped to deliver high-quality outputs and gain valuable work experience.
How It Works
- The MFRE Program works closely with over 150 Industry Partners each year to develop targeted, connected and relevant Graduating Projects for the MFRE cohort. The projects fall under one of three categories: academic research projects, industry-based consultancy projects, or industry-based internships.
- MFRE Students have the option to obtain their own Graduating Project, or select from one of the MFRE-sourced projects.
- Most of the Graduating Projects are conducted individually but in some cases project partners offer team-based projects.
- MFRE Students work on the Graduating Projects on a full-time basis in Term 3, from May to August. The Graduating Project is a unique opportunity where students get to manage a real-world small-scale project, develop a project plan, define project deliverables, build a project schedule, plan for project risks, and manage project work.
- MFRE Students receive 1-on-1 support from a Faculty Supervisor, the Project Partner, and MFRE team throughout the summer, to maximize their learning experience and the quality of their final deliverables.
Competencies Gained from the Graduating Project
MFRE Graduating Projects are developed solely for MFRE students and are designed for students to work on real-world challenges alongside experienced professionals. By undertaking on the Graduating Projects, Students demonstrate the following competencies that give them practical skills to excel in their future careers.
- Strengthen professional skills through the Graduating Project start-up workshops at the start of term Develop a robust project plan, including defining project objectives, deliverables, developing a work breakdown structure, project schedule, and plan for risks
- Manage effective meetings from start to end, in a professional setting and with industry professionals
- Manage project work, tasks, and timelines to ensure quality outcomes
- Manage project communication and expectations with project participants involved in the project
- Apply MFRE-acquired skills to complete the project, including research, analytical and critical thinking skills, and technical skills required for the project
- Develop high quality deliverables that are tailored specifically to the audience and for the specific Project Partner
- Engage in networking and relationship building in a professional context
Project Partners and Projects
The MFRE Program works with a wide range of Industry Partners in the Climate, Food and Environmental sector.
- Government:
- Local, Provincial and Federal agencies whose work includes economic modeling, forecasting, policy reviews, survey design and analysis, and data analytics.
- Private Companies: Start-up, small to medium sized enterprise, national and multi-national companies in food processing, distribution, retailing.
- Industry Associations:Associations, Consulting firms, Marketing boards whose work includes financial analysis, economic modeling, data and quantitative analysis.
- Non-Profit Organizations:Charities, not-for-profit organizations, social enterprises whose work advances environmental and social issues like food waste, food security, food sovereignty, food and climate justice, greenhouse gas sequestration, carbon accounting.
View a list of Projects and Partners 2017 – 2024 Graduating Projects List [PDF]
Interested in Becoming a Project Partner?
MFRE project partners include Entrepreneurs, Startups & Established Companies, Consulting Firms, Government Agencies, NGO’s, and Universities that collaborate with the MFRE program to provide students with real-world, hands-on learning opportunities in the form of projects or internships.
If you’re an industry professional looking to work closely with talented graduate students on a 4-month Graduating Project, email to inquire about becoming a Project Partner. Project development takes place between November to February, but we are happy to connect at all times during the year.
150
Project Partners and counting
230
Projects Completed
40
Faculty Supervisors
Graduating Project Examples
Graduating Project topics range within MFRE’s academic concentrations to ensure alignment between the students’ knowledge, skills and Industry needs.
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Economic Modelling Project Examples
- Student Name: Claudia Dominguez
- Project Title: Food Retail Environments, Accessibility, and Exploring the Definition of Affordability
- Project Description: This project creates metrics to evaluate food accessibility in urban, rural, and remote communities across British Columbia and the Yukon. It focuses on food accessibility disparities faced by Indigenous groups, visible minorities, recent immigrants, and other vulnerable populations.
PROJECT PARTNER: City of Vancouver - Student Name: Elizabeth Yu
- Project Title: Assessing Economic Impacts of the Community Benefit Agreements Policy
- Project Description: This project assesses the economic impact of Vancouver’s Community Benefit Agreements policy by examining policy evaluation tools and determining a multiplier to capture the policy’s effects. The project will be used as reference for the economic development department in its discussions with City Council.
- PROJECT PARTNER: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Student Name: Karen Li
- Project Title: Long-Term Job Vacancies in Primary Agriculture and Food and Beverage Processing
- Project Description: This project examines the prevalence of long-term job vacancies in primary agriculture and food and beverage processing industries in three respects: the impact of wage on the proportion of long-term job vacancies among vacancies of all durations, employment sizes in these industries and the long-term job vacancies rate, and the use of and reliance on temporary labour in these industries.
- PROJECT PARTNER: Canada Food Price Report
- Student Name: Xiaoyu Zhu
- Project Title: Understanding and Forecasting Food Price Inflation
- Project Description: This project seeks to harness advanced forecasting techniques to predict food price trends, backed by comprehensive case studies that delve into the multifaceted factors influencing these prices. Through a blend of econometric analysis and real-world data, the initiative aims to offer actionable insights for stakeholders in the food industry.
View a list of Projects and Partners 2017 – 2024 Graduating Projects List [PDF]
PROJECT PARTNER: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
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Policy Analysis Project Examples
- Student Name: Yiying (Angel) Sun
- Project Title: Standard and Guideline Recommendations for Food Rescue Hero Certification
- Project Description: This project provides ILCS with recommendations, including standards and guidelines, for developing Food Rescue Hero Certification by evaluating and assessing existing certification standards and guidelines from various jurisdictions. Food Rescue Hero Certification aims to develop effective strategies and practices to minimize food waste in the British Columbia food retail and food service sectors.
PROJECT PARTNER: Vancouver Food Runners - Student Name: Xu (Betty) Yan
- Project Title: Bridging the Gap: Advocacy for a Better Food System
- Project Description: This project offers Vancouver Food Runners (VFR) insights into non-profit partners’ needs and challenges and VFR’s partner impact. The final report, along with briefs and e-newsletters, not only helps improve VFR’s work with nonprofits, but also demonstrates nonprofits’ potential to support the local food system, raises awareness around critical issues regarding food insecurity, and advocates for policy change at the municipal level to bridge the food system gap.
PROJECT PARTNER: Research with Dr. Rick Barichello - Student Name: Benjamin Zammit-Maempel
- Project Title: Determining the Effect of Lobbying on Policy Risk: An Application of a Dairy Quota Asset Pricing Model
- Project Description: This project uses a policy risk model developed by Dr. Barichello, together with quarterly marketing data from Alberta, to estimate the threat of lobbying to the value of dairy quota, as perceived by producers. Following a stationarity check and model validation, vector autoregression revealed that lagged lobbying values do not appear to predict changes in policy risk; however, qualitative analysis of the content of lobbying discussions should be included to understand this relationship further.
View a list of Projects and Partners 2017 – 2024 Graduating Projects List [PDF]
PROJECT PARTNER: Immigrant Link Centre Society (ILCS)
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Business Management Project Examples
- Student Name: Karena Liu
- Project Title: Exploring Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Practices: A Report for Eatmore Sprouts
- Project Description: This project evaluates and analyzes Eatmore Sprouts’ sustainability performance in six key areas: Water Recycling, Solar System, Heating & Cooling System (Energy Sources), Packaging, Composting, and Organic Agriculture. It then provides actionable recommendations for improvement based on the assessment results. The project also identifies potential funding opportunities based on Eatmore’s environmental performance and offers suggestions for future data collection to enhance sustainability efforts.
PROJECT PARTNER: Hopcott Farms - Student Name: Enchao Zhang
- Project Title: Consumer Motivations Survey at Hopcott Farms
- Project Description: Through exploratory interviews, a Qualtrics survey, and survey analysis, this project delivers valuable insights to Hopcott Farms regarding customer motivations for patronizing their butcher shop. The results allow Hopcott Farms to identify customer segments, refine marketing strategies, and improve customer engagement.
PROJECT PARTNER: Mindful FÜD - Student Name: Jingyuan Zhou
- Project Title: Data System Development and Demo Analysis for Strategic Growth
- Project Description: This project builds a data tracking and visualization system to support Mindful FÜD’s future data management and sales trend analysis across different products and channels. It also includes feedback forms and visualizations for in-store demos, helping the company understand the demos’ impact and optimize marketing strategies.
PROJECT PARTNER: Wise Bites - Student Name: Helen Mao
- Project Title: Financial Internship at Wise Bites
- Project Description: This internship focused on updating and improving Wise Bites’ costing sheets to accurately reflect costs and margins and conducts a cost-benefit analysis to identify new investment opportunities. Additionally, it involved assisting with grant applications, revising the company pitch deck, and creating a grant tracking system that documents available grant opportunities, details the application process, and tracks grant usage.
View a list of Projects and Partners 2017 – 2024 Graduating Projects List [PDF]
PROJECT PARTNER: Eatmore Sprouts & Green Ltd.
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Data Analytics Project Examples
- Student Name: Susana Zhang
- Project Title: Statistical Insights from Sensory Data
- Project Description: This project uses statistical tools to analyze current sensory data collected from three panels (i.e., external panel, internal panel, and employee panel) to find correlations between attributes and test the market-predicting power of the panel.
PROJECT PARTNER: Naked & Saucy - Student Name: Bessie Bao
- Project Title: Assessing the Sales Performance of Naked & Saucy
- Project Description: This project analyzes the sales performance of Naked & Saucy’s products from multiple perspectives, such as sales growth across different time periods, the effectiveness of promotional activities, repeat purchase rates based on regions, stores, and customer profiles, and comparisons with key competitors. The resulting insights can help Naked & Saucy refine its pricing strategies during promotions, learn from competitors’ best practices, and better target diverse customer needs.
PROJECT PARTNER: United Way BC - Student Name: Evelyn Sun
- Project Title: Analyzing and Optimizing the Food Link App: A Data-Driven Approach to Enhance Food Security in British Columbia
- Project Description: This project focuses on the development of the Food Link App to enhance food security across various regions in British Columbia. By leveraging analytical data, incorporating dashboards, establishing KPIs, and continuously testing and updating features, the project delivers an efficient and user-friendly platform that fosters collaboration among community food hubs and supports broader food security goals.
View a list of Projects and Partners 2017 – 2024 Graduating Projects List [PDF]
PROJECT PARTNER: Daiya Foods
A Win-Win Scenario for Project Partners and MFRE Students
Discover how MFRE students and Project Partners collaborate to create impactful solutions – a true win-win, as shared in their testimonials below.
Project Partner Testimonials
“Our MFRE student really took my expectations to another level. Her dedication and interest to the subject matter came through, producing an excellent forecast of the potential macro changes that policy is likely to drive in Ag labor in California.”
Jason Fung, Vice President, Oppy
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“The MFRE students delivered the full scope of our project and provided additional research that are useful for decision-making. Both students adapted readily to the COVID impacts to our project and ensured the process was smooth.”
Lyndsay Scott, CEO and Founder, Kindred Cultures Inc.
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“This has been a really valuable experience for me and my business. The information and models that the MFRE student provided will be very useful in helping to ensure growth of Lita’s will go in the best direction.”
Jackie Thomas, Co-founder and CEO, Lita’s Mexican Foods
“We were able to access a student with both the interest and great training in a field where we need more expertise.””
More Project Partner Testimonials
“We were able to access a student with both the interest and great training in a field where we need more expertise.””
Barbara Best, Manager, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada
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“We have hired three candidates from the program so far, and each time it has been a great experience. We have had competent, motivated, creative and committed employees.”
Patrice Martineau, Assistant Director, Statistics Canada
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“Very thoughtful approach in seeking to meet the needs of the partners. Excellent match regarding expertise on the project question.”
Ileana Costrut, Sr. Program Coordinator, CityStudio Vancouver
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