There is a renewed interest in developing sustainable food systems, ensuring healthy diets and nutrition. Cities are at the forefront of this endeavour. Urban food labs provide a space where innovation, research, and community engagement intersect to create more sustainable and resilient urban food systems. The urban food labs in NUFS are organised in the second year of the MSc Nutrition and Food Systems curriculum. They will allow students to apply the skills learnt in the first year of the curriculum to evaluate a complex problem and develop innovative solutions together with non-academic stakeholders. The food labs will demonstrate the power of cities to transform local food systems. A partnership between Ghent University, the University of Cuenca (UCuenca), Ecuador, the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Tanzania and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, Vietnam and Rikolto, an international NGO.