After four enjoyable years of studying Food & Agribusiness Management at UCD as my undergraduate degree, I knew that my future lay in the food industry. Fourth year was spent studying, writing my thesis and enjoying my final year in college (i.e. going out as much as one can), all while researching and panicking about what I was going to do when I finished. Finding a “balance” had gone out the window at this stage.
The feeling in the air amongst my peers was ever-changing; optimism to worry, panicking to “I’m moving to Madagascar”, all while only have a couple of euros to your name.
After a number of rejections and, even worse, companies not getting back to you on the progress of your application, along came a promising talk by Bord Bia’s Tom Tully in the Ag building. He gave us the details of the programme and to be honest, it sounded as real as the ad on the side of a website saying “win a million in just one click!” After six months on the Bord Bia Graduate Programme, who’d of thought that the programme actually was all that it was made out to be.
The next few paragraphs detail my highlight reel over the last six months since starting the Bord Bia & UCD Michael Smurfit Business School International Graduate Programme.
JULY
31 new work colleagues or best friends?
On Monday 8th July, a number of nervous, unfamiliar 20 something year olds started the International Graduate Programme. We were welcomed on our first day by members of Bord Bia and Smurfit and our “onboarding” experience began. This month involved presentations from all departments in Bord Bia, lectures for two core modules of the MSc in Global Business Practice, training in Excel and Word (who knew I wasn’t actually “proficient” in Microsoft Office), and numerous events with my new peers, involving multiple swims at Seapoint and BBQs (pretty much the PG version of Love Island).
AUGUST
The real world and my introduction to China
On Tuesday 6th August I started my role as the International Markets Graduate in Bord Bia HQ in Dublin. My role involves promoting Ireland’s incredible food, drink and horticulture in such regions as Asia, Africa, Russia and the UAE.
I was quickly thrown into working on an upcoming visit from Chinese authorities which involved liaising with the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and organising flights, transport, accommodation, interpreters, etc. for a total of two weeks.
The outcome of this visit was 14 Irish meat plants getting approval for access to the Chinese market, which offers huge potential for the Irish food and drink industry.
The Irish Times: Approval of 14 Irish Meat Plants to Export Beef to China
AgriLand: 14 New Beef Plants Approved for Export to China
SEPTEMBER
The Chinese Ambassador and Trade Meetings
September continued to have a China focus. The visit from the Chinese authorities continued into the month and was followed by multiple meetings with officials from the Chinese Embassy in Ireland, including a business lunch with the Ambassador of China to Ireland. Near the end of the month I attended multiple meetings with government departments and agencies involved in international trade, and the Inaugural Conference of Irish Honorary Consuls where the ‘Global Ireland’ initiative was at the forefront of discussions.
OCTOBER
ASEAN Ambassadors
In mid-October I coordinated a visit for Ambassadors of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to visit Bord Bia HQ. The ASEAN was established in 1967 and is currently made up of 10 countries – Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos Peoples Democratic Republic and Cambodia.
Check out a food alert I wrote detailing Ireland’s exports, market access and latest trends for each member country.
I also attended multiple meetings about Expo 2020 Dubai, where Dubai will host “the world” for a total of 173 days, including pavilions from over 190 countries – including Ireland! Check out this cheeky video on Expo 2020 here.
NOVEMBER
North Africa Livestock Inward Buyer Visit (IBV for short)
Towards the end of November, a delegation of 13 livestock importers from North Africa were invited to Ireland to see what we had to offer. The group had a jam-packed itinerary which involved travelling from county to county. One of the main events, organised by myself and the International Graduate in the Meat Department, can only be described as a speed-dating event between Irish exporters and North African importers – there was even a bell! This event worked a treat and a number of promising handshakes were had.
AgriLand: Algerian and Egyptian livestock buyers visit Ireland following export of 250 bulls
DECEMBER
Juggling Algerian visas, back to school and two inspection visits
December was a VERY busy month. It began with an inspection visit from Malaysia, whereby four inspectors analysed the processes of Irish poultry plants. This was followed by Christmas events (woo) such as a department lunch and a Christmas dinner with the whole of Bord Bia, before heading back to Smurfit for our next module (wow those months flew). All of the grads, overseas and in Dublin, were reunited for a few days and you’d swear we had had zero human contact in the last few months. When we’re not attending lectures (or eating endless amounts of banana bread – shout out to Smurfit for the delicious food) we’re hanging out or engaging in activities such as 12 pubs. The one thing that I found difficult was trying to balance lectures and case studies with your Bord Bia work, for example, trying to arrange visas for the fast-approaching trade mission to Algeria and Egypt and an incoming visit from Chinese officials. The great thing about Bord Bia is the constant support. Everyone, from any department, is there to help so no need to fret!
JANUARY
Back to school again, webinars and full steam ahead with the trade mission
We returned for our fourth module in Smurfit (slightly heavier after Christmas) in the second week of January. The module was called Global Business in a Digital Environment and we learned the ins and outs of paid and non-paid media. Once the module concluded, I returned to Bord Bia on the Friday and we were full steam ahead with the preparation of the trade mission. Aside from all of the arrangements for the actual mission, myself and the trade mission team carried out a webinar with dairy client companies ahead of the visit to North Africa. The aim of this webinar was provide client companies with all they needed to know about these markets; both general and sector specific insights.
FEBRUARY
The big event
After months of planning, the Bord Bia trade mission team set off for Algeria on Saturday 1st February. The mission was a great success and well worth the sleepless nights! A total of 13 events and 150 meetings took place with key food buyers from Algeria and Egypt and had media engagement with over 17 million readers in both countries (video here if you're looking).
I was lucky enough to travel to both Algeria and Egypt which was great seeing the importance of the work I had done prior to the mission. On to the next one!
The Farmers Journal: Egyptian food demand soaring
Some pics of traditional Algerian cuisine:
MARCH
St. Patrick’s Day prep
One of my key projects in February/March has been liaising on the St. Patrick’s Day (SPD) food hampers with the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Sheridans Cheesemongers and Ornua. The packs are issued to embassies around the world as part of their SPD celebrations. This year, a total of 35 packs were sponsored and sent out by Bord Bia.
In conclusion… APPLY!!!! Also have a look at the Bord Bia Smurfit LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for frequent updates.