UKUDLA launches first summer school on sustainable food systems and data science

The African–German Centre of Excellence for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems and Applied Agricultural and Food Data Science (UKUDLA) hosted its first summer school from 14–24 September 2025 at the University of Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa. The programme brought together master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral fellows from Southern Africa and Germany for an intensive two weeks of training, exchange, and collaboration.

UKUDLA is a partnership between the University of Pretoria (UP) (through Future Africa), the University of Mpumalanga (UMP), UWC, the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR, Malawi), and the University of Hohenheim (Germany).

The summer school featured:

• Academic seminars and workshops on sustainability science, food systems, and data science.
• Field visits to the Breede Valley Municipality, where they learned from local communities about indigenous knowledge systems and school feeding programmes.
• Thematic sessions on indigenous food, the water–food–energy nexus, and responsible research.
• Community-based activities, including food storytelling and local engagement.

The opening week also included a networking session with the UP – UM Feed–Protect–Care Global PhD Collaborative Platform, followed by the official launch of the UKUDLA Centre of Excellence on 16 September at the District Six Homecoming Centre. The event, attended by Vice-Chancellors from all four African partner institutions, including Professor Francis Petersen, Vice Chancellor and Principal of UP, highlighted the commitment to advancing food systems research through joint training, capacity building, and innovation.

UP, through Future Africa’s Sustainable Food Systems Research Chair, led by Professor Frans Swanepoel, proudly hosts the UKUDLA doctoral training hub. Derived from the Nguni word for “food”, UKUDLA is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), multiple German Federal Ministries, and South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and works to advance sustainable food systems and data-driven agricultural innovation across Africa.