Sponsor A Food Safety Culture Summer Research Student

Food businesses now have a chance to co-fund a 10-week summer research scholarship exploring a food safety culture question relevant to their operations, supervised by the Food Safety Culture Lab at the University of Otago – New Zealand's leading academic team in the field. Food safety culture, the shared attitudes and behaviours that shape how safety is actually practised on the ground, is one of the most powerful levers a business has for reducing risk, and this scholarship offers a low-risk way to tap into that expertise while building a pipeline to emerging talent.

Sponsoring businesses contribute $3,500, which the NZFSSRC matches dollar-for-dollar, and help shape the research topic alongside full supervision from the Lab. Students can be based onsite or hosted in Dunedin with remote check-ins, and sponsors receive practical outputs – posters, videos, and resources – they can apply directly to their business.

If you are interested in hosting a student, register your interest with the UoO Food Safety Culture Lab by 30 September; more details are available on the Food Safety Culture Lab webpage.

Published on: 24 August 2026