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DUT Academics Share Their Expertise with German Students

DUT Academics Share Their Expertise with German Students

Two academics from the Durban University of Technology’s Department of Food and Nutrition Consumer Sciences, Prof Carin Napier (HOD) and Mrs Evonne Singh (lecturer), were guest lecturers at the FH Munster University of Applied Sciences in Germany for nearly two weeks, between 11 and 20 June 2018.

They lectured 12 Bachelor and Masters degree students on the module, “South African culture, food and nutrition polices and security.”

According to Prof Napier the learning outcomes of this module included, understanding the various cultures in the South African context, critically analyzing the nutrition statistics of the South Africa population with regards to food intake and nutrition, traditional South African (SA) cooking in practise, as well as comparing the South African and German policies and programmes. “The module content included South African culture (all the provinces), food intake, housing, clothes and traditions. An overview of food and nutrition statistics in South Africa, nutritional status of various groups through the life cycle. A practical cooking lesson on preparing traditional SA food and tasting session” said Prof Napier.

“We also looked at the Food and Nutrition policies, nutrition programmes and Food Based Dietary Guidelines in South Africa, and a lesson was presented on the various methods to determine food security in vulnerable population groups focusing on coping strategies as a measurement tool. The students then had to develop coping strategies for vulnerable communities in their local communities and present it to the group,” she explained.

Prof Napier said the Department of Food and Nutrition Consumer Sciences enjoys a thriving partnership with the FH Munster University of Applied Sciences and were invited to share South African experiences and expose students from the FH Munster University of Applied Sciences to the English language. “This module was well received by students from the FH Munster University of Applied Sciences, and some of them have expressed great interest in undertaking their internship at DUT,” said Prof Napier.

She said the partnership between the two institutions has been in place since 2015, and several exchanges have taken place since its inception.

“We’ve already hosted seven students from the FH Munster University of Applied Sciences to complete a four-month internship in our department. Their projects mainly focus on community-based research, which exposes them to various South African cultures. The four months they spend at DUT is credit bearing which is allocated towards their degrees. During this time we allow for interaction between our students and the German students where discussions take place around culture and local content in the two countries. We’ve also had one of our staff members visiting Munster during 2017 to observe practises in their food facilities. One of our PhD students visited FH Munster University of Applied Sciences where he was assisted to formulate his research project,” added Prof Napier.

The two Universities recently agreed that they will investigate the way forward on how to get DUT students to visit Munster University of Applied Sciences for a short internship or for Work Integrated Learning.

Pictured: Prof Carin Napier (HOD) and Mrs Evonne Singh (lecturer) with students from the FH Munster University of Applied Sciences.

Nduduzo Ndlovu

 

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