Jyothis Joy Mazhuvanchery

Jyothis Joy Mazhuvanchery headshot
MPS '22, Global Development
  • Hometown: Angamaly, Kerala, India
  • Colleges attended and degree earned: National Dairy Research Institute: Master of Technology in Dairy Technology; Kerala Agricultural University: Bachelor of Dairy Science & Technology
What are the big challenges you want to tackle in the world?

The grand challenges I seek to confront include the following:

  • minimizing food wastage in perishable commodities by converting into processed and value added products;
  • promoting adherence to food safety and hygienic practices for minimizing incidences of food borne illnesses and outbreaks and ensuring food security; and
  • ensuring sufficiency of micronutrients to malnourished populations by fortifying staple foods.
What were you doing before the MPS program?

I was working with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), India as an officer in the Quality Assurance group of the organization from September 2015 to July 2021. I provided technical support to dairy co-operatives in areas of food safety and quality and processing operations. I also worked with domestic (Food Safety Standards Authority of India, Bureau of Indian Standards) and international regulatory bodies (Codex, International Dairy Federation) in aspects pertaining to dairying. I handled training sessions for members, staff, and board of directors of dairy co-operative unions in various topics like food safety and hygiene, food regulations, milk quality and contamination etc. I've worked closely with World Bank Sponsored Milk Fortification Project aimed at addressing Vitamin A & D deficiency in India since 2017.

Prior to joining NDDB, I worked with ITC Foods Division as Manufacturing Executive in a Ready to Eat foods production unit during July 2012 to September 2015. I worked in milk processing plants of Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd, Kerala, India for a period of 6 months in 2010.

What does global development mean to you?

To me, global development means working on regional issues at a global level. It entails bringing in regional and location-specific knowledge to an international platform to enable contextual learning. Specific to my specialization, it means learning agriculture practices and rural development initiatives while imbibing the spirit of community learning and resource utilization.

What has been the most memorable or impactful experience of your career so far?

Working in Quality Mark initiative – a food safety and quality assessment program instituted by NDDB which aimed at bringing holistic development of quality culture in the Indian dairy co-operatives. This assignment took me to various dairy co-operative units in different states of India since 2016. The knowledge I gained from these field visits and interactions helped me to understand what it means to practice and adopt food safety and quality aspects in the field.

How do you envision your MPS degree contributing to your career?

The MPS coursework will help me to learn tools and strengthen my thought processes to work in the development sector. I aspire to work in the food and nutrition domain after completing the program in leadership roles. The knowledge and skills gained by undertaking the capstone project would enable me to think successfully to tackle challenges in the future.

Tell us a fun fact about you.

My first passport waited a decade in vain to get stamped.

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