Developing nutrition literacy in childhood can contribute to longer-term health and wellbeing by supporting informed food-related decisions as children grow. Children’s nutrition literacy develops through everyday family experiences, creating valuable opportunities to understand, discuss and apply age-appropriate nutrition information in practical food-related decisions. This project will refine and pilot test AI-supported nutrition games for children aged 8–12 years and their parents/caregivers, exploring how scenario-based play and family co-play can support nutrition literacy, confidence and everyday decision-making.
Building on existing prototypes and early testing, the summer student will work with a cross-disciplinary team in design, nutrition, computer science/game design, sport and health. They will help refine a focused set of everyday scenarios, such as lunchbox preparation, grocery shopping and sports-day food choices, and further develop the AI learning-companion component through age-appropriate feedback and reflection.
The student will also assist with small-scale pilot testing with children and parents/caregivers, examining usability, acceptability, engagement, perceived learning value and how co-play supports discussion and shared reflection. Outputs will include refined prototypes, a testing protocol, findings and recommendations for future development and evaluation. The student will gain practical experience in child-centred research, co-design, AI-supported learning and interdisciplinary health research.
Supervisors
Primary Supervisor: Wendy Zhang
Other Supervisor(s): Claudia Leong (Ara Institute of Canterbury), Carl Petersen, Simon Hoermann, Ruobing Wang
Application and funding
This is a UC Commitments Summer Scholarship research project. Emailed applications will not be considered. Find out more here: University of Canterbury Scholarship Portal - UC Commitments Summer Scholarship
Final date for receiving applications
25 September 2026
