UCOL welcomes Chinese students

Media Release

Thursday 11 July 2013

UCOL welcomes Chinese students

Twelve Chinese students were welcomed with a Mihi Whakatau to Whanganui UCOL this week.

The group of 17 and 18 years olds are the fourth cohort of culinary students from the Guangzhou Vocational School of Tourism and Business to come to Whanganui UCOL over the last four years.

The students will spend 18 months in the training kitchens and classroom studying towards the Diploma in Professional Chef Practice Level 5.

In a move to make the transition to a new culture smoother for the students, email contact between the students and their homestay families before their arrival was encouraged. “It made the welcome so much warmer,” says Gina. “The students and their hosts felt they knew each other when they met face to face for the first time.”

All the students have done previous culinary study at the Vocational School and are attending UCOL to improve their Western cooking skills and techniques. “They have an incredibly challenging time ahead of them,” says UCOL Culinary Lecturer Gina Guigou. “Not only will they be learning in their second language, they only have a total of five weeks break in the next 18 months.”

Gina says the students begin their UCOL experience next week with an introduction to the Western kitchen, then it’s ‘full on’ from 29 July.

As part of their integration into the Whanganui community, the students will join other second year UCOL Culinary students to help cater for 550 guests at the Countdown Charity Ball later this year. Public cooking classes are also likely. “In the past our Chinese students have done dumpling-making demonstrations and they have been very popular,” says Gina.

The welcome was attended by UCOL staff, students and homestay hosts and marked the beginning of a rich cultural and learning experience for all concerned says UCOL Associate Dean (Vocational Education) Tim Snape.

ENDS

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