Prof. Rina Swart, the Head of Department of Dietetics and Nutrion [who receives grant management support from the School of Public Health] and Dr Retha Kotze, Senior Lecturer, Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, UWC visited Ankara University through the “reciprocal” funding made available in their Erasmus+ grant from 15-19 June 2026  During their visit they met with the Dean of the Health Faculty at Ankara University and also had the opportunity to engage with a group of Masters students who presented (in English) their research projects as part of their regular journal club.

The team paid an extensive visit to the University central kitchen where they prepare 10 000 lunches per day which is served at 35 food halls at each of the university buildings to students (at the subsidised cost of USD1) and to staff (at the subsidised cost of USD3) whereas the real cost of meals (including staff cost and building maintenance) is around USD6 per meal. The dietitians at the central kitchen monitors food preparation, menus and quality. The menu is a two-week rotational cycle serving a soup, a main dish with vegetables, a starch, and a dessert. At each serving hall, an exemplar tray is displayed for patrons to know what is to be served, but also to do their own quality check. Dishes on the menu include whole traditional foods. The team observec that UWC could learn from this model of food provision in order to address food insecurity and ensure a healthy meal for all our students and staff on a daily basis.. NOTE:  There are commercial food outlets at several of the university buildings, but their service is much less popular than the university food halls.

Prof Swart and Dr Retha Kotze also visited the Dietetics departments and training sites at the Ibn Sina Hospital. Again, each ward is well resourced with a dietitian at each ward of about 60 patients with more dietitians doing out-patient clinics and in the central food service unit. The laboratory spaces available to the Department in their teaching laboratories also provided some options to pursue with regards to laboratories at UWC – especially since the HPCSA has recommended that our food preparation laboratories must be renovated in order to retain our accreditation at the next evaluation (anticipated in 2029).

The cultural exchange was greatly engaging and it was quite fascinating to see how Turkiye celebrate their food culture. Similarly, the continuation of small (family owned) food retailers rather than massive supermarketisation was also quite heartening to see.

On the research level, the team identified two projects which they will pursue for funding applications and we have identified a third theme for a comparative paper to be written using secondary data analyses. Both visitors have been invited to serve as editors on the Faculty Journal and we are exploring a COIL exchange on the Sports Nutrition module.