UC Davis Department of Nutrition Partners with Japan’s Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences
The UC Davis Department of Nutrition celebrated its 15th year of collaborating with Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences (NUAS) in bringing a group of sixteen Japanese students and two faculty members to UC Davis each summer. The program is usually a twenty-day, specially-designed program held each August, but has been remote for the past 2 summers due to COVID-19. This unique partnership began in 2007, when NUAS contacted Nancy Hudson, MS, RD (Emeritus) from the Department of Nutrition regarding bringing a group of dietetics students to UC Davis. After Ms. Hudson’s retirement in 2012, the program is now coordinated by Joan Frank, MS, RDN, FAND, Assistant Director, Didactic Program in Dietetics. The program is a model partnership between the Department of Nutrition and NUAS.
The successful program consists of lectures on various nutrition-related topics given by faculty members and local dietitians in addition to food and nutrition tours and field trips on campus and the surrounding area. The students visit sites on campus including the Segundo Dining Commons and Culinary Support Center, the USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center, the Student Farm, and the Robert Mondavi Institute and its associated brewery and winery. Off campus, the program visits the Davis Sensory Institute, Kaiser Roseville Medical Center, and the Food Service Technology Center in San Ramon. In addition to the academic component of the program, the group enjoys museums, activities, and opportunities to interact with American and other international students. We look forward to having them back on campus next year.
The NUAS students share their culture with the Program Faculty on the final evening of the program at the Farewell Dinner. This year, the students provided a video of their online experience featuring aspects of Japanese culture, foods, and nutrition.
Contact:
Joan Frank
Lecturer, Department of Nutrition
Academic Coordinator, Department of Nutrition
Office: 3241 Meyer, (530) 754-9749
jsfrank@ucdavis.edu