Savor the World, from the Field of Gastronomic Studies
Ceremony to mark the establishment of the College of Gastronomy Management
A ceremony was held on Monday, June 25, at the Prism Hall of Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) to mark the establishment of the College of Gastronomy Management, which opened in April 2018. The event was graced by many guests and involved officials as well as 355 freshmen of the college celebrating the launch in grand style.
Against the backdrop of the expanding scale of the global food industry, Ritsumeikan University established the College of Gastronomy Management with the aim of nurturing high level management resources who can succeed in a wide range of fields led by gastronomy by offering integrated and comprehensive learning in the three fields of management, culture and technology, leveraging the advantages of the university.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mikio Yoshida, Chancellor of the Ritsumeikan Trust, said:
“As a university, we have been working with the aim of globalization and strengthening of the research capabilities of a dimension not seen in higher education in Japan, and against this background we opened up gastronomy as a new discipline and established the College of Gastronomy Management, as the 15th college, as a base to nurture human resources who can deliver solutions to the various global issues. This enabled us to position the entire BKC campus, which combines the arts and science streams, as a global educational and research base in the health, sports and gastronomic fields. Going forward, we will continue to demonstrate the synergies of being a university and work hard to nurture creative and innovative human resources who will shoulder the hopes for the future.”
Expressing his gratitude, Toshio Asakura, Dean of College of Gastronomy Management said:
“For the college to succeed and evolve, it is indispensable to have the four strengths of the students, staff (faculty), research and educational environment, as well as the strength of domestic and overseas support. I am extremely glad that we are able to offer such a forum that brought together those four strengths.”
Subsequently, Mr. Masanori Shinano, Deputy Director-General, Higher Education Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Charles Cointreau, Asian Representative of Le Cordon Bleu International B.V.; and Mr. Yasunori Hotta, Kansai Office, Vice General Manager of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., delivered congratulatory addresses.
Following this, Ryoto Watanabe, a freshman at the college, on behalf of the students, expressed his determination, saying:
“I would like to use the precious learning at the college and the experiences for my future as well as for challenging the world.”
To conclude the ceremony, Tomomi Morishima, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, expressed his hopes for the future:
“For humans, food is equivalent to medical science, and I feel proud of the newly established college related to food. I would like to see this college gain recognition around the world from here in Shiga.”
A symposium with the theme “Savor the World” was held after the conclusion of the ceremony. In the symposium, Professor Nicola Perullo of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy talked about “What is a new type of gastronomy?” while Hiroshi Izawa, Professor of the College of Gastronomy Management talked on the topic of “Establishing the academia of gastronomic arts and sciences”, respectively. In the question and answer session held after the lectures, students asked questions regarding concrete details of gastronomic studies in Italy and career prospects after graduation. The professors meticulously answered the questions making the event quite meaningful for the participants.
Find out more about the College of Gastronomy Management by following the link below:
https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/gast/
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