Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peoples'Friendship University of Russia
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
This fall, the International Scientific School "Sustainable Development Project Management: Focus on Food Waste" brought together students and young researchers from RUDN University and Universitas Sebelas Maret (Surakarta, Indonesia) to explore real-world cases to understand how food waste flows are structured and which project solutions can help reduce it in the developing economies of Southeast Asia.
The students completed the full cycle—from developing a research design and questionnaires to collecting data in local markets and schools, conducting initial analysis, and preparing project solutions assessing economic, environmental, and social impact. This format allowed the students not only to experience the circular economy in action but also to see how academic models work in real-world urban environments and government pilot programs.
Project history
The school is integrated into a broader semester-long track: in October, participants attend online lectures from RUDN and UNS on the challenges of food waste in developing countries, the drivers and barriers to sustainable food waste management in Indonesia, and present mini-reports on best global practices. Simultaneously, the teams, together with their faculty, design a field research program: agree on locations, develop a questionnaire, determine respondent groups, sampling methods, and data coding, so they can immediately enter the field in Indonesia with a well-designed toolkit. The in-person phase in Java becomes the focal point of this route, followed by a post-phase: refining food waste reduction projects, calculating impacts, preparing grant applications, and presenting their ideas at an international venue.
The project's history is a logical continuation of RUDN's long-standing collaboration with an Indonesian university. The Faculty of Economics team visits Surakarta annually to hold Olympiads, discuss joint research, and develop new academic mobility formats. At some point, the partners began considering how to make the exchange truly research-based and came up with the idea of a semester-long seminar that integrates theory and practice, culminating in a field trip and the development of real-world project solutions with students from the partner university. The starting point for this particular recruitment was a large-scale Indonesian government pilot program providing all schoolchildren—from elementary to high school—with free school meals.
Universitas Sebelas Maret acts as an independent observer in the project, exploring program weaknesses, organizing feedback, and analyzing how food procurement, preparation, and distribution practices are changing, as well as how food loss and waste are generated at each stage. The RUDN University-UNS School of Science is "integrated" into this live experiment: students gain access to a unique field (from school cafeterias to wholesale markets) and help collect data that will later form the basis for joint articles, project proposals, and, potentially, adjustments to public policy itself.
The in-person stage of the scientific school took place in Surakarta in an intensive week format: 16 academic hours of lectures and workshops on the circular economy were combined with field trips and brainstorming sessions on creating a circular business model for school meals and food waste management. On the first day, participants met with UNS faculty leadership, introduced their universities and projects, and then participated in a detailed introductory briefing on the national school meals program, which became the school's central case study. Their Indonesian colleagues explained the pilot program: the resources involved, the university's role as an observer, and the risk areas already visible in the practical implementation. Next, work began in mixed UNS-RUDN groups: the students immediately divided into small teams to jointly design the field research toolkit.
"My first day in Indonesia was memorable for its very hot and humid climate, especially in Jakarta. It was milder in Surakarta. I was surprised by how early it was to dawn and dark early. We had to wake up at seven in the morning, and at eight the students and I were picked up at the university, and we didn't return home until around nine in the evening. Meanwhile, at five in the morning, we could wake up peacefully to the sunlight shining through the window, like a strong lamp. Regarding the discussion of the pilot school meals program in Indonesia, what was unusual about it was that the government set two goals: reducing food waste and reducing the cost per serving (from 60 cents to a more affordable price). Since the standard of living in the country is not very high, 60 cents per serving (about 33 rubles) is considered a bad investment, especially given that the rate of food waste has been high since the project's inception," says Maria Potapkina, student affairs specialist at the Faculty of Economics and the Institute of World Economy and Business at RUDN University.
Visiting the school
A detailed questionnaire emerged from the heated discussions—more than 50 questions for various groups of respondents, from students and teachers to administrators and suppliers. This allowed for a comprehensive look at the food system and sources of food waste. The very next day, plans had to be adjusted, truly project-based, as a planned visit to the school food processing facility was cancelled due to a lack of government approval. Therefore, the team quickly shifted to working directly at the school.
As a result, the students found themselves at a private Muslim school, where they spent the entire day interacting with teachers and children—curious, open, and often fluent in English. They also observed how meals were organized on-site: what dishes were offered to the children, how queues formed, what was left on the plates, and how the students themselves perceived the new state curriculum.
"Under the pilot program, children weren't given a particularly varied menu: rice prepared in various ways, fruit (usually papaya), vegetable salad, and sometimes meat or fish/seafood. All of this was prepared in a community kitchen, packed into metal food boxes, and delivered to schools. After receiving the food, the children ate right in their classrooms (in Indonesia, there are no designated areas for school meals). The food prepared for the students isn't refrigerated, and it's delivered to the schools semi-hot (the preparation time of each batch is factored in, as deliveries begin simultaneously around midday). Delivery is often delayed due to traffic. Despite this, the percentage of spoiled food is very low. Food waste occurs primarily because the menu, which the government has designed as "healthy and balanced," isn't liked by children. Many children don't eat at school. Others may bring food from home, so they don't even touch the school food. The children said they also had a mobile kitchen that cooked delicious food. The food was relatively inexpensive, but the pilot project was generally aimed at children from families who couldn't afford pocket money for school meals or pack a lunchbox," said Maria Potapkina.
A key part of the field day was a visit to the market where school meals are purchased. In temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius, without refrigeration, they sell not only fruits and vegetables but also meat. This allowed the students to see how safety, logistics, and potential food losses are combined in practice during the delivery phase.
"In hot weather, Indonesians use traditional methods to preserve freshness. They use banana leaves and natural packaging materials. They cook in small portions and generously use spices with natural antiseptic properties. They store food in the shade and in containers filled with water," says Konstantin Dedkov, a fourth-year student at the Institute of World Economy and Business, majoring in International Economic Security.
Trip results
The third day of the research school was devoted to reflecting on the accumulated material: a lecture on field research methodology was held on the UNS campus, where fresh impressions from the school and the market collided with strict requirements for data quality and research design. The students' reactions showed that this "reverse order"—practice first, methodology second—was even more effective: many critically rethought the previous day's questionnaires and sampling approaches, which is especially valuable during the pilot phase. After the lecture, the teams returned to their groups to structure their initial results, agree on further online work, and outline plans for joint publications and projects in the field of food waste management.
"On the third day, our team presented an idea for developing a mobile app that collects data on children's preferences, helps schools adjust menus based on actual requests, tracks items that generate the most leftovers, and includes a feedback mechanism for students. The proposal was positively received by our Indonesian partners as a practical tool for optimizing nutrition and reducing food waste," said Konstantin Dedkov.
The final day of the in-person program became the program's cultural highlight. Participants traveled to the 9th-century Prambanan Hindu temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, the research lens shifted to an anthropological one: despite approximately 80% of Indonesia's population being Muslim, busloads of schoolchildren from across the country flock here to explore their historical and cultural heritage. The RUDN students, with their unusual appearance for Java, immediately became the focus of increased attention: people lined up to take photos, and the informal interactions with Indonesian students became another dimension of the vibrant intercultural dialogue that such research schools are created for.
Following the trip, all participants noted improved skills in project analysis, interviewing, and teamwork, as well as increased knowledge in the field of the circular economy and sustainable development—both theoretically and practically.
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