On the eve of the 43rd anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers' Day, Lao Dong Newspaper had an interview with Prof. Dr. Meritorious Artist Nguyen Minh Thuy - Senior Lecturer of the Department of Food Technology, Institute of Biotechnology and Food, Can Tho University. Ms. Thuy is an individual honored in the Vietnam Glory Program in 2023.
On the eve of the Vietnamese Teachers' Day, I wish you good health and continue to reap success. It is known that she has worked in the education sector for more than 40 years, what is the reason why she chose to nurture the generation of students in the Mekong Delta?
Prof. Dr. Meritorious Artist Nguyen Minh Thuy: To be exact, I have been nurturing the generation of students in the Mekong Delta for 41 years, but I do not understand why the fire in me is still burning, very intense (laughs).
It is actually understandable because I was born and attached to this land, which is rich in potential but also difficult, especially in the field of research and development of food technology. That is what prompted me to return and choose a breeding path for the generation of students in the Mekong Delta, with the desire to contribute a small part to improving the quality of human resources, especially in the field of science and technology for agriculture, preservation and processing of agricultural products.
I always believe that every student in the Mekong Delta has great potential, just need to access new knowledge, be inspired and create training opportunities, they can go far, confidently integrate and assert themselves. Incarcarating the younger generation is to sow the seeds of knowledge, responsibility and aspiration. I hope that from those seeds, many "grand trees of knowledge" will grow, contributing to making this land more sustainable and prosperous.
Miss, in the past 3 years, have you and your students had any outstanding research to help develop new products and applications in the Mekong Delta?
- It can be said that global food security, recycling policies, and reuse of by-products from the production process are key challenges in the current sustainable development plan. Reusing by-products with processes with moderate costs compared to processing costs is an issue that the research team has been very interested in in the past 3 years. Accordingly, we focus on exploiting popular agricultural raw materials with high nutritional value but have not been fully exploited in the country.
The first major research direction is to focus on sweet potato and rice, which are two of the main agricultural products produced domestically with very large output. In the studies, the group effectively took advantage of the by-products created from the main production process, including the shells and parts removed from the potatoes after formation, or rice bran and broken rice from the rice production process... The group has conducted many studies related to the production of popular, convenient products (bread, noodles, vermicelli, cakes, fermented products) and products with long-term preservation (powder forms - using foaming technology) along with publications on related health benefits.
My second research focus is on high-value raw materials such as Artemia, crab and low-cost, popular vegetables in the Mekong Delta.
In addition, the skin of the goose is also used to isolate compounds with high bioactivity. All products created in the form of nutritional drinks, fermented products, flour products, diverse nutritional soups... show the ability to convert ingredients from fresh and difficult-to-preserve form to products with high nutritional value and long-term preservation ability.
In general, the results that the group brought were the announcement of 80 projects of high scientific value, attending and reporting on 9 projects at international and domestic seminars.
Readers of Lao Dong Newspaper, especially young teachers, are eager to listen to her to add confidence and motivation to contribute to the cause of education.
- First of all, I sincerely express my deep gratitude to the previous generations of teachers - those who have devoted all their heart and intelligence to the cause of educating people, so that today we can continue and develop.
For young teachers, especially in the field of Food Technology, I personally hope that we will always maintain the passion, constantly learn, innovate teaching methods and update knowledge to keep up with the trend of the times. Today's teaching profession is not only to impart knowledge, but also to guide, inspire and arouse the spirit of creativity in learners.
Dear students, I hope you study with both passion and perseverance, believe that each knowledge you receive today will be a valuable asset for the future. The Food Technology industry not only contributes to bringing quality products to life, but is also associated with public health and sustainable development. She believes that with knowledge, love for the profession and the desire to contribute, they will follow in the footsteps of the previous generation of teachers, actively contributing to society and making the reputation of the beloved Can Tho University famous.
Thank you!
