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MWM Master Wine Management
Introduction
In these last few years the vine sector has been
characterized by a strong expansion in terms of production and consumption
and by a change in the consumers’ preferences towards a quality and
territorial-linked product. These trends led to an increase of
competitiveness among the vine farms, which are now expressing the need of
new professional consultants, with specific managerial and marketing
skills, capable of interacting both on the global market and with the more
and more demanding consumers.
The town of Florence, in first place, tried to give an answer to the
vine farms’ requests. In fact, starting from its own experience, in
which tradition, quality and entrepreneurship have always meant the reason
of the worldwide success of its typical productions, Florence promoted the
first high level Italian post-degree initiative in this direction, setting
up the Master in Wine Management, which today counts its fifth edition.
The Great Wine Capitals and the Commitment of Florence
The commitment of the Province of Florence in setting
up the Master has been undertaken during the inauguration of the Great
Wine Capitals Global Network, at "WINEXPO ‘99", in Bordeaux.
By undersigning an Agreement, the town of Florence joined the Great Wine
Capitals Global Network together with Bordeaux, Oporto, San Francisco,
Melbourne, Santiago de Chile, Bilbao and Cape Town all of them important
economic and cultural metropolis on the international panorama of
viticulture and oenology.
The main objectives of the Great Wine Capitals Global
Network are the promotion of academic, commercial and cultural exchanges
among the towns partner of the project and the development of common
programmes regarding new technologies, education, economy and tourism, in
order to increase the participation of the vine enterprises and of the
universities in the international scenario.
The University of Florence, thanks to the involvement of the Faculties
of Agriculture and Economics, is able to give a qualified contribution to
the aims of the Network, having established high profile educational
courses, as the completion of the university formation (permanent
training) and as the answer to a widespread need of skilled experts.
From the 1st Specialization Course to the inauguration of the Master
in Wine Management
In order to give an answer to the widespread need of
professionalizing education, in 2001 the First Specialization Course in
Management and Marketing of the Vine Enterprises took place. The Course,
promoted by the University of Florence and the Province of Florence, had
its seat in the University Experimental Centre of Montepaldi, in San
Casciano Val di Pesa, heart of a typical Florentine vine area, with a
historical tradition in the sector.
The Course had immediately a very positive outcome,
demonstrated by the numerous applications received from all over Italy,
and it had been characterized by the enthusiasm of the students, of the
professors and of the vine operators involved.
The lecturers given regarded the learning of basic
elements of viticulture, oenology and the general vine sector, the
deepening on specific problems and features of the vine farms and
enterprises, the study of qualitative elements of the product, by the help
of direct experiences of wine testing, and the knowledge of the
international wine offer.
In its second edition, the Course was converted into an University
Master, thanks to the institution of this new post-degree specialization
in the University of Florence. The main aims of the Master are to give a
professional updating for the expert already operating in the vine sector
and to train who intend to start working in it.
The Master
The Master’s aims are to form high level consultants
for the enterprises of the vine filiere and to update the management
skills of the ones that already work in the sector. Moreover, a particular
attention has been given to the analysis of productive specificities, of
the market situation and to the management of the vine enterprise.
The students that achieve the Master’s title acquire
knowledge on the following subjects:
- technical and economic characters of the vine filiere;
- normative aspects of the wine production and commercialization;
- qualitative aspects of the product;
- characteristics of the enterprises of the sector;
- enterprise’s strategies;
- management control;
- business finance;
- marketing of the vine products.
The Master lasts eight months and counts 22 subjects,
for a total of 450 hours of lectures. The instructive method is divided in
four phases: a preparatory phase, necessary for the basic learning of the
data processing, economy and vine sector, a deepening study phase,
regarding the acknowledgment of technical and commercial aspects of wine
and the organizational and managerial structure of the vine enterprises of
the filiere, practical activities, oriented to the learning of operative
skills, and a final stage.
The stage, to be conducted in enterprises or foreign
educational Bodies that have an arrangement with the University of
Florence (i.e. Bordeaux, Melbourne, Avignon), intends to give the students
the possibility of making direct experiences, in order to verify the
different living productive contexts and to use the new instruments
acquired during the lectures. In this direction, the Great Wine Capitals
Global Network is able to give to the students of the Master the
opportunity of making study periods and stages in the towns that
constitute the Network, in order to enrich their educational background
and experience.
During these four years, the Master has multiplied its
activities, organizing study excursions in vine local and foreign
(Montpellier, Bordeaux, Barcelona) farms and enterprises and attending
Italian wine trade fairs (Vinitaly), in order to give its students the
chance of meeting and setting relationships with the international vine
operators.
Finally, during its four editions, the Master promoted
numerous meetings, which were characterized by the participation of
important figures of the wine sector. The organized meetings were the
followings:
2001 - Meeting What are the managers for the
tomorrow’s wine?
2002 - Meeting The Italian wine: a worldwide
success
- Meeting The professional training and the new
trends of the wine market
2003 - Meeting To communicate the taste: great
virtues, pleasant vices
- Meeting The international wine market: trends
and strategies
- Meeting The "icon" wines and the
evolution of the market
2004 - Meeting The Italian wines in the American market
Results and Perspectives
During these four years, the Master counted a total of
89 students participating. Of these students, 59 had found occupation in
important enterprises of the sector.
The fact that more than the 70% of the students of this
Master were able to find a job demonstrates the efficaciousness of this
educational method, which is capable of training "experts" of
the vine sector, strongly needed by the market.
Moreover, this positive result highlights the
importance of a previous concerted planning among the promoting State
Body, the Universities and the enterprises of the sector, in order to
identify the correct and winning educational strategies on which it is
necessary to invest in the future to stay competitive.
The perspectives for the students of the Master regard
the possibility of making international educational experiences and the
activation of international research programmes on the wine market.
For more information: http://www.wine.unifi.it |
