Abdoulie undertook an undergraduate degree in his home country The Gambia in Food Processing Engineering. After completing his undergrad, he left for China in 2019 where he planned to undertake a graduate programme at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.   

As part of the programme, he studied Mandarin for four months in Beijing before moving to Wuhan in January 2020 to begin the Agricultural Sciences course.  

Abdoulie says: “I arrived to Wuhan where I didn’t know anyone. There were rumours of a disease but no one was taking it seriously and suddenly, two weeks later the whole city was in lockdown. I hadn’t even met my Professor who was stuck in Thailand and I didn’t know anyone. It was very isolating.” 

Abdoulie spent 67 days locked-down in his residence with no one to talk to with food delivered to his door. He was finally able to start his research in September.  

During the lockdown, he decided to apply for the Chevening Scholarship, and was invited to an online interview. He had previously applied unsuccessfully so he was delighted to learn that he had been offered a scholarship at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s.  

Chevening is the UK government’s international scholarships and fellowships programme offered to students with the potential to inspire, inform, and influence positive change. 

Abdoulie, talks about his decision to come to Queen’s and the year he has spent in Belfast: “When I finished my undergraduate studies, I started working with the Food Safety and Quality and Authority of the Gambia. 

“My work focused on a particular group of food contaminants known as ‘mycotoxins.’ When researching for a University, I was interested to find one with strong research capabilities in this particular area and found Queen’s to be one of the leading global institutions in this field. I’ve learnt so much from the research carried out by Professor Chris Elliott and my supervisor Professor Katrina Campbell.  

“I am so glad I made the decision to come here and am looking forward to returning to the Gambia to continue working with the Food Safety Authority and to help to build a safer national food system.” 

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