Reforms are permanent, or should be permanent, within institutions that reflect on themselves over time. These discussions are nothing more than attempts to adapt to an ever-changing environment. FCNAUP is no different. From demographic changes to the regulation of professions, and the constant scientific evolution in their respective fields of knowledge, all are valid reasons for this permanent restlessness that characterizes our school of thought .
Interdisciplinary knowledge has always been fundamental to the training of nutritionists at FCNAUP. Monitoring the realities of nutritionists' professional practice, as well as the sustained growth of new areas of activity, created the need to update the curriculum to address a constantly evolving reality. The introduction of new disciplinary areas within a finite credit context implied a new distribution of these credits across the various curricular areas. The consequence was a reduction in teaching time in some areas and an increase in teaching time in others. This aimed to better organize and integrate the content, while also reflecting some recommendations stemming from the evaluation of this study cycle by A3Es.
On October 11, 2016, we have a record of the first formal discussions in which changes to the Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition Sciences at FCNAUP were suggested, also responding to the University of Porto's recommendation to harmonize the Credit Units of all Curricular Units – UC (commonly known as subjects) to multiples of 3 ECTS.
At this stage, several informal proposals previously submitted to the Scientific Council (SC) by groups of colleagues and students were considered and included, particularly in the areas of Biochemistry, Microbiology, Policy, Communication, Food Safety and Quality. Among other issues, we debated the concentration of content from complementary curricular units, namely those taught under the protocol with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, such as Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. The objective of this process was the reorganization of content, including new areas not previously taught and limiting overlaps. It was suggested to introduce a new curricular unit called "History of Food" and to create a new curricular unit with content from the area of Psychology from a more clinical perspective and to support the various areas of activity of the Nutritionist. The presence in the first year of a curricular unit with content that would allow early contact with areas of activity of the nutritionist, such as Gastrotechnics, was considered important. The connection between the biomedical disciplines and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) has followed the evolution of FCNAUP in general and the Nutrition Sciences degree in particular. Curricular units such as Human Anatomy, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Histology, Biochemistry of Metabolism, Metabolic Integration and Regulation, Physiology, Genetics, Immunology, and Pediatric Nutrition will continue to be part of the new curriculum, taught within the framework of a teaching protocol with FMUP, maintaining a long and mutually beneficial institutional relationship. The reduction in teaching time in some of these curricular units has led to adjustments in the teaching plans, as well as an optimization in the distribution of topics covered by each curricular unit, which was discussed in each disciplinary area and among the responsible lecturers. These curricular units are a relevant part of the foundations upon which the knowledge of nutritionists is built, so the concerns raised by these changes are understandable. However, we are convinced that the overall result of this curriculum review will be a valuable asset for the training of future nutritionists in Portugal.
On February 27, 2017, and in June 2019, further changes were made to the proposed curriculum reform, which were finalized in September 2019 in light of the Reference Framework for the Academic Training of Nutritionists from the Order of Nutritionists. In May 2020, further changes were discussed and adjustments made until September, at which point we considered this proposal finalized because, at the University of Porto, proposals for changes that fall within the scope of university autonomy (as was the case here) must be submitted by October of each year so that they can come into effect in the following academic year with the favorable opinions of the Scientific and Pedagogical Councils and a commitment to accreditation.
One of the areas where we made the most profound changes was in physical exercise and nutrition. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people who practice physical exercise, both to promote their health and well-being and to participate in sports competitions. Simultaneously, there has been an increase in the number of registered athletes, in different sports, of both sexes and all age groups. Considering the limitations imposed by genetics and the impossibility of indefinitely increasing training volumes, there is a growing interest in other areas, such as nutrition, that can influence athletic performance.
In fact, more and more athletes, both recreational and professional, recognize that a healthy diet adapted to the type of exercise contributes to achieving their goals, whether it be to have a healthier lifestyle or to compete better. It is widely accepted that nutrition influences adaptation and recovery from training, competitive performance, achieving an appropriate body composition, and reducing the risk of injury, among other things. It is because they "feel it firsthand" that nutrition can help them in this improvement process that more and more people who practice physical exercise are seeking nutritionists with specific training in the area.
Therefore, FCNAUP must be at the forefront of training professionals with credentials in this area. These professionals must be capable of understanding the physiology and biochemistry of exercise and establishing recommendations to mitigate fatigue according to the sport, assessing nutritional status and proposing strategies for its improvement, understanding the nutritional needs of athletes, particularly those of pediatric or older age, females, those following a vegetarian diet or of different religions, and critically evaluating the efficacy and safety of dietary supplements, among other things. Their intervention, in addition to being based on the best available scientific evidence, must have respect for the athlete's health as its cornerstone. Increasingly, people are seeking specialized professionals in this area. This was FCNAUP's intention when it decided to include two new curricular units on this disciplinary area in its program: Nutrition and Physical Exercise and Nutrition for Athletes.
The Food Technology course has been repurposed to incorporate innovation concepts, and is now called Food Technology and Innovation. This change will provide students with the tools and techniques necessary to develop and present value propositions for individuals and society. It will promote a greater understanding of the concepts and functions of innovation processes, their cycles, and development pathways. In fact, the work of nutritionists will increasingly contribute to the development of solutions for the main challenges of the food system. A new course in Marketing has also been proposed, with a stronger focus on the important area of agri-food marketing
The implementation of the process resulting from the Bologna Declaration included a transition to an education system based on the development of students' skills, including, among others, transversal skills and skills resulting from experimental or project work. To embody this intended change, we created a course unit dedicated to the promotion and development of transversal skills, geared towards entry into the job market. It was considered that this course unit will allow students not only to acquire new interpersonal and professional skills, anticipating the needs felt during academic internships and facilitating the transition to the job market, but also to consolidate skills acquired throughout the course. In fact, any formal curriculum in Higher Education should be developed based on the idea that students will be prepared, through that same curriculum , for a future that is largely unknown. Higher Education institutions will be responsible for presenting formal curricula that ensure the acquisition of technical and scientific skills, in a process of anticipating and planning the learning experiences that students undergo during the course, in order to achieve its educational objectives. Analyzing various curricula, it is easy to see that transversal skills have been gaining prominence in higher education programs , recognizing their relevance in students' academic training as a differentiating element, qualifying them for the development of critical thinking and access to the job market, enhancing academic success, personal development, and career prospects. It was with these objectives that this new curricular unit was conceived, open to the entire UP community, following the logic of several authors who define transversal skills as those common to various activities, transferable from function to function, acquired through interaction with others and non-formal training, relating to the ability to manage resources (intrapersonal skills), interpersonal relationships (interpersonal skills), and the performance of professional functions (professional skills).
These were some of the areas covered during this discussion. Due to space limitations, we have left some of this discussion for other articles to be published soon on Pensar Nutrição.
Finally, it should be noted that these changes also arise at a time of great pressure on Higher Education and on the nutritionist profession due to the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. The digital revolution and distance learning, as well as the profession's ability to respond to these new pathologies that combine infectious disease with chronic food-related pathologies, are already emerging as future challenges for further discussion. As a school that values itself, this is a discussion that has already begun and will continue.
*This text is the result of the generous contribution of the co-authors who were invited to write this document based on their respective fields and where the most significant, or at least most visible, curricular changes have occurred. Our sincere thanks to all of them.
Written by
Pedro Graça, Director of the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Porto
