The first master’s degree in Economics and Coffee Sciences was inaugurated this morning in Trieste. The 400-hour course is to be held in the illy headquarters starting on Monday 17th January and ending on 22 April 2011.
The opening ceremony was attended by Anna Illy, President of the Ernesto Illy Foundation, Francesco Peroni, Rector of the University of Trieste, Cristiana Compagno, Rector of the University of Udine, Guido Martinelli, Rector of the International School for Advanced Studies, Maria Cristina Pedicchio, President of the Consortium of Molecular Biomedicine, Furio Suggi Liverani, President of the Trieste Coffee Cluster, the coffee district in Trieste and Roberto Morelli, Director of the Coffee University.
The master’s degree in Economics and Coffee Sciences is an innovative inter-university masters in Europe, both for the way it is set up and for its international exposure. It is organised by a group of partners of excellence in the education sector: the University of Trieste, the University of Udine, The Ernesto Illy Foundation, the Coffee University, the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), the Consortium of Molecular Biomedicine and the coffee district in Trieste. The international partners of the Ernesto Illy Foundation, such as the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and the Coffee Board of India also collaborate.
This project, inspired by the cultural legacy of values left by Ernesto Illy and by his scientific and managerial approach, proposes a new virtuous model of collaboration between the corporate world and the academic world, by holding university courses inside a company.
The master’s degree will provide an indepth and multidisciplinary preparation for graduates interested in working in the coffee world and more generally speaking, in the agro-food sector. The teaching will embrace the whole coffee production chain and will be developed across three areas: economics and management, biology and agronomy and technology, and the unifying element is the pursuit of quality in all the stages of the production process and of the marketing of the product.
The students enrolled are all five-year graduates in Economics, Engineering, Sciences, Agriculture and Political Sciences from various countries across the world: India, Brazil, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Uganda, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador and Italy.
The Ernesto Illy Foundation, which is funding the initiative, has provided seven grants for seven students, each from one of the coffee growing countries. These grants enable seven young people from emerging and developing countries to take part in the master’s degree, thus offering them a valuable opportunity as a concrete action of business ethics.
Information on the Master’s degree in Economics and Coffee Sciences:
- Academic Year 2010/2011: from 17 January to 22 April 2011
- 400 hours of classes (200 hours with university teachers, 200 hours with illycaffè teachers)
- Number of university credits: 60
- Venue: illycaffè, Trieste (Italy)
- Language: English
For further information:
www.illy.com; www.fondazionernestoilly.org
illycaffè. Anna Adriani/ Christine Pascolo; Tel. +39 040 3890111
Cohn & Wolfe
Alessandra Bettelli/ Eliana Bertand; Tel.: +39.02 20239.374/343 – +39 346 7008540
E-mail: alessandra.bettelli@cohnwolfe.com; eliana.bertrand@cohnwolfe.com