Seven selected for immersion into Singapore’s food industry

The Tertiary Market Immersion Programme (TMIP) is a government initiative that creates opportunities for business-focused tertiary students within Aotearoa New Zealand to connect with Southeast Asia. The programme is designed to help participants build their knowledge of many of Southeast Asia’s innovative organisations and develop a deeper understanding of how business operates in the region.

The focus of this year’s TMIP programme is food and nutrition. The five-day trip will allow the group to visit global, local and New Zealand businesses that include food retailers, research centres, innovation spaces and government agencies. Working in groups and guided by academic mentors, they will immerse themselves in food retail channels and current consumer trends in Singapore.

The participants will also work on preparing a pitch to present in front of a panel of judges and their peers at the end of the trip. The group will present their idea in the form of a business report after they return to New Zealand to showcase the learning they developed through the pitch.

As part of the trip, the group will have the opportunity to visit the FoodPlant which offers applied research capability and facilities for the food industry and is linked to the FoodPilot on the Manawatū campus. They will also visit the Singapore Institute of Technology campus where they will meet staff and students engaged with the Food Technology degree, a joint programme with Massey. The programme focuses on food product technology and combining food science, food engineering and food business.

Head of School of Food and Advanced Technology Professor Julian Heyes says the trip will offer valuable learning experiences for the participants.

“All of us in the School of Food and Advanced Technology are proud to see our students and graduates participating in the programme. New Zealand has a lot to contribute to Southeast Asia, both in terms of our exported products and also in supporting Singapore’s ambitious plans to increase their domestic food production to 30 per cent locally produced by 2030.”

Our participants:

Ella Moffat

Ella Moffat has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Business, with a double major in International Business and Strategic Communication. She is currently working as a Commercialisation Analyst at Massey Ventures.

Kate Mori

Kate Mori has recently completed her Bachelor of Food Technology with Honours. She is undertaking the SEA CAPE Market & Industry Placement Programme (MIPP) in the summer of 2023 with Sustainable Foods.

Mrinali Kumar

Mrinali Kumar is co-founder and CEO of plant-based start-up Kinda Ltd. She graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Food Technology with Honours majoring in Product Development and is currently completing her Master of Food Technology.

Nelson Harper

Nelson Harper is Founding CEO of Precycle NZ. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.

Dr Nikki Renall

Dr. Nikki Renall is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Massey University. She has a PhD in Nutritional Science and completed a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at The Riddet Institute upon graduation. Dr Renall also holds a Diploma in Psychology, Master in Dietetics and Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition from University of Otago.

Summer Wright

Summer Wright is undertaking her PhD study in Food Science. She is also currently a co-convenor of OraTaiao: NZ Climate and Health Council, where she leads in advocating for climate action in Aotearoa New Zealand as a means of achieving health equity.

Thomas Sun

Thomas Sun is currently a Chemical and Process Engineering intern at PDV Consultants. He is in his final year of his mBachelor of Engineering with Honours in Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.