New specialist center in Cape Town: Progress for sustainable food systems!

New specialist center in Cape Town: Progress for sustainable food systems!

The kick-off meeting of the German-African specialist center UKUDLA took place in Cape Town on September 16, 2025. This important event was accompanied by political celebrities and organized in the residence of the German ambassador. The focus was on the collaboration between the University of Hohenheim, which was represented as a German project partner with a large delegation, and other partners from Africa.
The specialist center aims to strengthen sustainable and resilient food systems in Africa by promoting research, training and knowledge transfer. The initiator of this project will receive funding of almost 6.5 million euros to achieve the targets within the time frame from 2025 to 2029.

UKUDLA is carried out in cooperation with several renowned universities, including the University of the Western Cape, the University of Pretoria, the University of Mpumalanga in South Africa and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi. This partnership makes it possible to bring together different areas of expertise and work synergistically to develop innovative solutions to the challenges in Africa's agri-food sector.

Project goals and strategies

The goals of the project center are diverse. Not only is the development of sustainable food systems supported, but applied research with data analysis is also carried out. This research combines agricultural and nutritional sciences with data science to optimize existing systems and strengthen their resilience. The fundamental pillars of the project are capacity building, research and knowledge transfer.

A key focus of UKUDLA is to train the next generation of researchers in agricultural and food sciences in sub-Saharan Africa. The planned measures include support for African and German teachers, master's students, doctoral students and postdocs. Activities include academic training, mentoring, career development workshops and summer schools to ensure practical training.

Expansion of knowledge and research transfer

Another important initiative within the project is the establishment of two research chairs at the University of the Western Cape and the University of Mpumalanga. These chairs are intended to help effectively transfer current research results to industry, politics and civil society and thus have a noticeable impact on local communities.

In addition to the activities of the specialist center, there is news from the cafeteria at the University of Hohenheim: Klaus Finkenzeller is taking over the management from Bernd Dubrau, who held this position for over 30 years. Finkenzeller's approach is described as creative and sustainable, with the emphasis on good teamwork. This could have a positive impact on the food options at the university.

A curious fact is that the opening of the new Room of Silence at the University of Hohenheim may be delayed after a dormouse discovered the room. This unexpected turn of events shows that, in addition to the large initiatives, small but tongue-in-cheek events also shape everyday campus life.