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Kadan Automotive Technical College students touring Honolulu Community College’s automotive technology program facilities.

 

For the fourth year in a row, Honolulu Community College welcomed back students from Kadan Automotive Technical College from Sendai, Japan. Their visit consisted of a tour of Honolulu’s automotive and diesel programs. Seven of the Kadan students stayed back to spend a day and a half learning along side Honolulu’s automotive students.

“The students reviewed fuel diagnosis and conducted a lab session. We reviewed suspension system diagnosis using a frequency recorder. They had a lab session and were able to perform alignment, front suspension repair, noise diagnosis and wheel bearing service. It was a very busy, but rewarding two days,” shared Warren Takata, Honolulu CC automotive technology instructor.

In 2011, a team of students and faculty from Kadan visited Honolulu CC in hopes of entering into an educational exchange between the two schools in the area of automotive technology. A few days after the signing the college experienced the horrific events of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Tohoku region. Several of the Kadan students, who were still on island during the tragedy, lost their families and homes. Upon their return to Sendai, Kadan took full responsibility of the two students, and further strengthened the partnership between the two schools.

Each year Kadan sends a group of students and faculty to visit the Honolulu CC facility. “This partnership benefits both of our students. They learn about each other’s culture and each country’s approach to learning automotive technology as well as the equipment and facility they train at. New friendships are formed, and with smart phone technology—Google translation and even YouTube—students are able to converse with much more ease,” says Takata.

Honolulu CC will fly a few students to Sendai to learn at the Kadan facility for a week this summer with the support from Honda International and Hawaiian Airlines.

Kadan and Honolulu CC automotive students

To see more photos from the visit go to Honolulu Community College’s Flickr site.

—By Billie Lueder

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