While most students are neck-deep in essays, Wade Harrison is currently going through the process of making flavoured-milk.

The second-year Bachelor of Food Technology student says studying the subject means a lot of chemistry, engineering and processes, but when he tells people what he's studying, he often gets the same reaction.

'Most of them say ‘oh, so you're going to be a chef', but it's more to do with mathematics, processes and how you make things,” says Wade.

'A lot of the time I say it's more like chemical engineering, which allows people to associate it more with science.”

So, how does a kid from the Bay of Plenty who loved science, physics and mathematics at Otumoetai College, end up in Palmerston North?

'Mum and dad were a bit shocked because I hadn't known what I wanted to do,” he says, 'and suddenly I was off to Palmerston North.

'I went to see the school's careers advisor. I told her what I was good at and she was really keen to show me food technology at Massey. It did stand out to me, so I thought ‘yeah, that's me'.

'I knew I wanted to do engineering in some way. I've always liked problem solving and that's really what engineering is.”

He says the first year has been good, with only a little step up from high school. Second-year, however, has been a little more challenging.

'It's certainly more report based and you really have to apply yourself a lot more,” says Wade.

'But that comes with interesting projects and other things, so it's good in a way as well.

'I quite like the physics and mathematics side of food technology; not so much the creative side, but that's just me.”

As part of second year, students go through various stages of product development. Wade's project is looking at a Kiwi favourite - pies - more specifically, the stuff within pies.

'We are looking at everything from the ingredients to how it is sold in the supermarket,” he says. 'From an engineering perspective, working in a group is exactly what you do when you get out of university into the workforce, so it's quite good to start doing it now.”

They have most recently been working on a flavoured milk project.

'It's not like we are trying to make the next Lewis Road Creamery product,” says Wade. 'We are learning about the processes involved. Homogenising the milk, making its shelf life stable, and all of the processes that go into making a product like that.”

This work will come in handy when Wade begins a summer internship over the road from Massey at Fonterra's Research and Development facility. Practicums are part of the degree, so each student must complete three over the four-year degree.

'The second and third practicums are when we aim to find jobs such as research projects for companies, where we can apply our knowledge,” he says.

'This year I've managed to get work at the Fonterra Research and Development Centre, where I'll be completing a project for them over the summer.

'In the future, I'd really like to work for a company with a good culture. Obviously Fonterra would be amazing - a dairy giant - but if I was working for an ice cream company or a brewing company or something else, I would be happy as well. It would be a lot of fun to build something from the ground up.”