Training Thinkers, Not Just Researchers

Insight from the FETE Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) Programme 2025 Edition 

The University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) hosted the 2025 edition of the Food Environment in Transitioning Economies (FETE) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) from 1 July to 30 August 2025. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity, the nine-week programme brought together 11 PhD students from Ghana, Malaysia, South Africa, and Tanzania, building on the momentum from the 2024 edition held in South Africa. 

The DTP went beyond traditional training by equipping advanced doctoral students with transdisciplinary skills essential for tackling food environment challenges in transitioning economies.  

The training covered six core areas: 

• Advanced data and spatial analysis: equipping students with the tools and skills to analyse data and spatial information effectively 

• Qualitative data interpretation: developing students’ ability to interpret qualitative data accurately and comprehensively 

• Policy and systems mapping: providing students with knowledge and skills to view the food system as a complex web of interconnected components and to map their relationships for system-based actions 

• Data visualisation: enhancing students’ capacity to visualise data and communicate their findings more effectively 

• Scientific storytelling: equipping students with skills to communicate scientific concepts and findings in a compelling and accessible manner 

• Interdisciplinary collaboration: developing students’ understanding and engagement in interdisciplinary research and collaboration 

Students attending a training session led by Dr Goh Ee Von 

In one of the DTP’s training sessions ahead of the FETE Project Annual Workshop

Expert resource persons from Asia, Europe, Australia, and Africa, enriched these sessions, providing mentorship that underscored the programme’s global relevance and the value of cross-border academic exchange. 

Sessions were led by experts from Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia, with students working directly on their own research data for hands-on learning. The cohort also showcased their work at the FETE Project Annual Workshop and the International Symposium on Food Environments (ISFE 2025) that was hosted at UNM in August 2025.  

Koh Su Yuan (right) sharing her views in response to questions posed to the postgraduate students about their projects during the FETE Project Annual Workshop

The DTP student cohort alongside other participants at the 1-Minute Rapid Fire Presentation, organised as part of ISFE 2025 

Several students received recognition for their outstanding presentations. Scott David Hastie and Koh Su Yuan (both from Malaysia) won first and second place in the oral presentation category at the Nutrition Society Malaysia Conference, while Alice David Gomezulu (Tanzania) won the Rapid Fire Presentation award at ISFE 2025. Four others also received awards across various categories.

Scott David Hastie (first from left) received the Best Oral Presentation award at the Nutrition Society Malaysia Conference. Pictured with him (left to right) are Dr Lee Siew Siew and Professor Mahenderan Appukutty, President of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia

Alice David Gomezulu won the Best Rapid-Fire Poster Presentation prize 

Beyond academic training, the DTP fostered international collaboration, resilience, and shared purpose. Participants left with new skills, meaningful connections, and a renewed commitment to advancing healthier, more sustainable food systems. 

As the FETE DTP evolves, its impact is clear: nurturing a new generation of scholars ready to tackle pressing food environment challenges with creativity, collaboration, and courage.