Three Durham College (DC) students are gaining international experience and perspectives on their chosen fields during a week-long visit to Peru as part of an institutional partnership between DC and the Centro Experimental de Formación Profesional (CEFOP), a technical and vocational college located in the city of Trujillo, Peru.

As part of DC’s delegation of employees and students, Travis Fortnum (Journalism – Web and Print), Vik Panjwani (Digital Video Production) and Kyle Rist (Culinary Management) are in Peru to document and celebrate the partnership between the two schools, which was formed in 2015 with a view to having DC and its Peruvian counterpart share culinary arts expertise.

While Rist, along with DC professor Dave Hawey, shares tips and tricks with members of CEFOP’s culinary program and demonstrates signature Canadian dishes — including, of course, poutine and maple syrup butter tarts — Fortnum and Panjwani, along with DC faculty Danielle Harder, are capturing the DC team’s adventures and sharing them with audiences back home through social media (#DCinPeru), as well as articles and videos for The Chronicle, DC’s student-produced print and digital news publication.

Since May 2016, Katie Boone, manager, International Projects, DC, who oversees the college’s four international projects, has been developing the opportunity for the DC students through identifying objectives, funding and roles for their participation during the trip.

“We work, live and breathe a very internationalized, globalized world,” Boone recently told Fortnum for an article. “Students or graduates that can finish their academic career with international exposure in their field are all the more ready to work in a globalized world.”

The partnership with CEFOP is part of DC’s extensive commitment to supporting international education and training for its students and employees that allows them to learn about industry best-practices, gain global perspectives, exchanges ideas and incorporate them back into the local curriculum.