History of establishment and development

The Institute of Food and Biotechnology (IFB) was established on October 10th, 2022 on the basis of a combination of the Institute of Biotechnology Research and Development. Can Tho University and Department of Food Technology, College of Agriculture, Can Tho University. The predecessor of the Biotechnology Research & Development Institute was the Microbiology Laboratory established in the 1960s by Prof. Dr. Tran Phuoc Duong. This laboratory belongs to the Department of Botany - Faculty of Science, Can Tho University. In 1981, in order to exploit the abundant source of biological nitrogen in the Mekong Delta, the Board of Directors of Can Tho University established the Center for Bio-Protein Research. In 1991, the Minister of Education and Training signed a decision to change the name to the Center for Research and Development of Biotechnology under Can Tho University and in 1995 to change the name of the Center to Biotechnology Institute of Research and Development under Can Tho University. The Institute was in charge of training in Biotechnology, Microbiology at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. As for the Department of Food Technology, established in 1978 with the original name of the Department of Processing under the Faculty of Animal Husbandry - Fisheries - Processing. In 1981, the Department of Processing was separated to establish the Faculty of Agricultural Products Processing & Preservation, then renamed the Faculty of Food Technology. Since 1996, according to the development requirements of Can Tho University, the Faculty of Food Technology has been transformed into the Department of Food Technology under the Faculty of Agriculture, Can Tho University. The department is in charge of training human resources in the fields of Food Technology, Post-Harvest Technology at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels for the Mekong Delta and the whole country.

Currently, the Institute of Food and Biotechnology includes 4 affiliated Departments. The Department of Molecular Biology manages the training program for Advanced Biotechnology, Master of Biotechnology, Doctor of Biotechnology. The Department of Microbiology Technology manages the training program for the major in Biotechnology, Master of Microbiology, Doctor of Microbiology. The Department of Food Technology manages the training programs of Bachelor of Food Technology, High Quality Food Technology, Master of Food Technology and PhD in Food Technology and Post-Harvest Technology Department of Food Technology. Management of the training program of Mass Post-Harvest Technology, Post-Harvest Technology Master's Degree. The total number of students and trainees studying at the Institute is about 3000 people. The Institute's human resources include 69 officials and employees who are trained at home country and abroad. Among them, there are 46 teaching staffs with 3 professors and 12 associate professors, 23 PhDs and 8 masters (of which 4 are studying doctoral). In terms of facilities, the Institute is newly invested in RLC-zone B building with an area of > 5000 m2, including 17 research laboratories with full modern equipment, meeting the needs of training quality human resources. High quality in the fields of Biotechnology, Microbiology, Food Technology and Post-Harvest Technology. The Institute has many cooperations in training and scientific research with local institute and oversea university, including many prominent regional and world leading universities such as Michigan State University (US), University of Leuven, Ghent University (Belgium) and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology (Japan). Every year, the Institute has many scientific works published in Local and international journals with ISI/Scopus standards. The function and mission of the Institute is to train high-quality human resources, conduct scientific research and serve the community in the Mekong Delta and the whole country in the fields of biotechnology, microbiology, and food technology and post-harvest technology.