Global Food and Culture Festival unites campus

The University of Huddersfield was voted one of the top ten institutions in the world for the ‘student experience’ and best place to live and study in a global student survey.

STUDENTS at the University of Huddersfield united to celebrate their different nationalities and cultural traditions at one of the year’s most popular global campus events.

The Global Food and Culture Festival takes place twice a year with the aim of strengthening inclusion, coherence and understanding of difference cultures, friendships and celebrations.

Over 600 students attended the evening of festivities and enjoyed an array of performances, activities, traditional culture and national cuisine.

Among the many nationalities celebrating were students from Vietnam, Nigeria, Japan, Iraq, Cyprus, China, Thailand, India and many more, including those from the UK.

The event allows students from the UK and around the world to showcase their national fashions and traditions, which helps to bring people together and gain a wiser understanding of worldwide cultures.  Through the annual event, it is hoped that long lasting friendships and experiences are created and shared.

Huddersfield Business School student Aribu Surani, from Pakistan, said the Festival “was the best to way to understand diversity and how it makes the world a beautiful place”.

British student James Coomber said the performances were not only insightful, but also fun to watch.

“I have learnt so much from our international students and have made so many good friends.  It was great to see such a huge collaboration and everyone getting to know one another,” said James.

The University has 25,000 students from over 120 different nationalities and is continuing to grow on an international scale, securing its reputation as one of the most popular universities in the world.

The University has country offices in China, Nigeria, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India and in recent years has been voted one of the top ten institutions in the world for the ‘student experience’ and best place to live and study in a global student survey.

The Global Food and Culture Festival continues to grow year-on-year and is proving to be one of the most popular student events taking place on campus. 

The University’s International Student Experience Manager Alan Tobi said the event is a fantastic opportunity for the University’s students to learn from one another “through their passion of global celebration, music, fashion, language and culture”.

“This event is so special,” said Mr Alan Tobi.  “Where else would you see a mix of Burmese umbrella dancing, Zorba dancing, and a Lebanese piano performance alongside British Morris dancing?

“We work hard at the University to ensure our students are developing a global mind-set to help better themselves and prepare for the global workplace.  I would like to personally thank our students for their extraordinary effort in making this such a special occasion,” he added.