Foodleader News: Highlights from May and June 2026 | Empowering Tomorrow's Food Security Leaders

Practical course was organized in UniLúrio in May

In May, the practical course was successfully organized at UniLúrio from May 4^th to May 13^th. Dr. Noora Kanerva and Katri Salo travelled to Nampula to support the practical course implementation. In total, around 30 students participated in the course and studied the online materials on the DigiCampus platform between April 20^th and May 3rd. The first days focused on reviewing the theory for the 24-hour recall and anthropometric measurements as well as practical practice on how to conduct these methods. On May 6^th, the team visited the Nacua primary school, and the student got an opportunity to practice the methods with the schoolchildren.

The remaining course focused on teaching the students how to analyse the data using the developed DASAT web app. The students analysed the data collected in September 2025 and prepared group presentations concentrating on different key nutrients or food hazards. On May 13^th, we organized a stakeholder seminar at UniLúrio, where regional representatives from the primary schools were invited. The students successfully presented the results to the stakeholders, and a panel discussion was organized to further discuss the challenges and solutions.

Exchange students from UoN and UniLúrio worked on their thesis at UH in June

At the beginning of June, two exchange students from UniLúrio and two students from UoN arrived at UH. The students worked on their FoodLeader-related thesis at UH for one month with the support from Dr. Noora Kanerva, Prof. Ndegwa Maina, and Dr. Lucas Pinto da Silva.

Additionally, a master's student in human nutrition, Andre Munyandamutsa, started his traineeship in the FoodLeader project. His work focused on harmonizing the food codes for DASAT and analysing the results from the FoodLeader School Survey as well as drafting the manuscript. In addition, a master's student in human nutrition, Neha Imran, has continued to work as a communication trainee in the FoodLeader project. They also supported the exchange students in Finland, allowing them to have valuable experience in Helsinki.

Key Achievements

The delivery of the GC-MS machine to UniLúrio in mid-May.
Successfully completed practical course at Unilùrio. Approximately 30 students completed the course, and the school visits and stakeholder seminar were successfully organized
Two students from UniLúrio and two students from the University of Nairobi have successfully completed their visit.