Winner of the Study a Master's in Europe Scholarship 2021 by educations.com

Meet Godslove Boadu, the 2021 winner of the Study a Master’s in Europe Scholarship!

Godslove Boadu, a Ghanaian national, has been awarded €5000 towards her tuition fees for her Master of Science and Engineering degree in Food Science at Junia ISA, Graduate School of Agriculture and Bioengineering in Lille, Northern France.

Godslove is driven by a passion for food, nutrition and sustainable diets for the environment. She has worked to create healthy, delicious and sustainable plant protein foods from climate-resistant, underutilized, Ghanaian crops and is passionate about creating a culture where food can solve problems like climate change.

You can watch the full interview with Godslove or read the interview transcript below.

Abby: I'm just going to ask you, to start out with: how did you pick France?

Godslove: Okay, well, first of all, I'm someone who's very interested in cooking and learning about making new recipes and everything. If we look at some of the countries in the world known for their cuisine, France is one of them. I wanted to go there to pursue my passion and also get to know more about their cuisine. But also one thing that really attracted me to France was, when I was picking out my school, I was looking at core modules and the class models that they had – I'm someone who's a person who's very hand-on-deck – so the school I [chose] had this incorporated in their course modules.

Also, as someone who's interested in [food] quality, food development and food production, the school that I selected had all these things, so it was a win-win for me. I was able to do food production. I was able to do quality assurance. I was able to do product development – all at the school.

Then, also looking at France, it has one of the biggest landmarks when it comes to climate change, which is the Paris Climate Agreement.

As someone who is interested in, not just making food for people to eat, but making food that makes a difference in the lives of people, I decided, "why not pick France?". I get to do the program I love, I get to learn about their cuisine and I also get to be in a city with one of the biggest [climate] landmarks and just learn about some of the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions). When I come back [home], I'll be able to incorporate it into the work that I'm doing here, and everything else that I'm doing too. That is why I chose France.

Abby: Perfect. Can you just tell us what you're doing with native Ghanaian crops and how you're working with the climate locally? We'd love to hear more about that.

Godslove: Currently, I'm working with a start-up. When we talk about climate change, people think it's so far away. We are looking at companies, their pollution, their emissions and we are not really a part of it. We have to look at that, climate change, from the angle of other people. What we want to do is: we are all part of climate change, it's part of our daily lives, the food we eat.

It's been established that eating more animal-based food affects climate change. If we eat more plant-based food, and we grow more plants, they pick up the carbon dioxide in the air and then it helps [fight] climate change.

What we are looking at is developing products – plant-based products – for people, delicious and nutritious food, so that they would opt for that. What we are also trying to do is, we are working with some farmers, we have a group of farmers who we work with. They are mostly women.

There is a crop in Ghana that is quite similar to chickpeas, and it's really nutritious, it's really beneficial, and it's also a climate-resistant crop. Like I said, it's mostly farmed by women, so you're able to get these crops and turn them into nutritious, protein-based foods.

We work with these farmers on how to plant using this, pesticides, locusts and all these things. We get to help the land, we get to help the environment and we bring our customers, our consumers along with us in the fight [against] climate change. Just by eating our products, they are helping fight climate change, so that is what I'm currently working on.

Abby: Amazing. Alright, Godslove, could you tell us a little bit about your time with Project Peanut Butter and working with quality assurance in food?

Godslove: Okay, I started working with Project Peanut Butter after a year of national service. Let me start from the backstory. There is this mandatory thing in [Ghana] where, after tertiary education, you are supposed to do one year's service for the country. So I worked in a company called Cargill Ghana Ltd. There I got to learn about cocoa, how it's processed and then how we get the final product, which is chocolate.

From there, I was looking for something more permanent, so I [went over] to Project Peanut Butter. Project Peanut Butter is an NGO where we make therapeutic food for malnourished children.

When you go to the northern part of the country, there are a lot of people there with babies who are really malnourished. Because of that, this project came about. So what we do is, we enroll the children on this project and then we give them food for two years. It's really amazing seeing these babies, who are so tiny and so malnourished,...then seeing them grow in these two years that we monitor them, giving them food. You don't just see the change in the children, you see it in the mothers of these babies. As the children progress in health and body-wise, they also [become] happier because they see their children [become] healthier and stronger. That is what Project Peanut Butter does.

Abby: Obviously, you've won the scholarship. Would you have any tips for someone applying to this scholarship in the future? Just based on your perspective, what advice would you give?

Godslove: The advice that I would give to anyone applying is, honestly, to be honest. To really talk about what your passion is about. I talked about how passionate I am about food and its relation to climate change, its relation to biodiversity and the whole lot. So, first of all, be passionate and be honest in your essay.

Also, I'd advise everyone to streamline their essay according to the requirements of the scholarship. There's a whole lot, you've done a whole lot, there's a whole lot you want to talk about and share with the world. But if you really [write it] according to the rules of the scholarship, it gives you a better chance. The world gets to see you for what you do and, at the end of the day, you come out victorious. That is my advice to everyone.

Abby: Perfect. So does this [scholarship] make anything easier for you? We're always looking to try and have an impact. Does it simplify things at least for the next year?

Godslove: Yes. So, I got my admission last year but I had to defer for some financial reasons. I applied for this scholarship last year, but I couldn't make it [to France]. That is why I was emphasizing streamlining and [writing] according to the rules of the scholarship. This helps me in paying for my tuition and making my journey this year smoother and better. Thank you so much, once again. I really appreciate it.

Abby: One last question: what's your plan after you've finished your Master's degree in France? What's the next step after that?

Godslove: After my Master's degree, I intend on coming back home [to Ghana]. Like I said, I started with the project. I was helping them develop products, so, with the knowledge that I will have, I hope to still be able to give that support and advice in terms of technical advice on product development. Even if I'm not actively working there, I hope to be able to give that support.

Then, I would also like to work with the Ghana Standards Authority, or any of the regulatory bodies. That's where this whole passion started for me. So if I get the chance to work with the Ghana Standards Authority or a regulatory body, I'd hopefully be able to work as a food standards auditor. I'd be able to help other companies and food production companies produce according to the requirements of food safety and hygiene and practice good manufacturing processes. That is what I hope to do with the degree that I get.