Marthin Tarigan, FABI doctoral candidate and Plant Health Program Head of the April Group based in Indonesia recently completed a three month visit to FABI. The focus of his time in Pretoria was to complete writing part of his Ph.D. thesis that covers research on various diseases affecting plantation trees and nursery plants in Indonesia.  Marthin’s research forms part of various projects that make up the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE)-FABI Tree Health Programme. Other than working on his thesis, Marthin had the opportunity to engage with FABI staff and students and thus expand his exposure to the many tree health projects in the institute. Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Ariska van der Nest linked to the RGE-FABI THP, served and Marthin’s chaperone, assisting him with local arrangements.