Choose Eastern Tech and Become Tomorrow's Viticulture and Wine Science Graduate

At Eastern Tech, the needs of our students are our top priority. EIT’s online graduate programs are therefore as flexible and impactful as their on-campus programs. They are backed by strong industry support and are developed by his EIT academics who are experts in the field. Our staff is highly knowledgeable and experienced, allowing us to respond quickly to the ever-changing needs of your industry and business.

When EIT* asked graduate lecturer Rory Hill to develop and deliver a new wine business and innovation program, Hill saw an opportunity. “Students who want to become winemakers and vineyard managers have options in the fields of New Zealand universities and colleges of technology*, but there are also opportunities to further develop their skills in business, marketing, sustainability, management and entrepreneurship. EIT’s graduate qualification is second to none,” he says.

Hill’s passion for wine has taken him around the world. His doctoral dissertation is on the topic of ‘Terroir’. This is a powerful French concept about the role of the environment in giving wine its unique taste. After working as a postdoc in Paris and Munich, he undertook research investigating how a sense of place develops and promotes local wine in the North Canterbury and Central Otago regions of New Zealand’s South Island.

Today, he shares his unique expertise and love of this dynamic field with students based in Hawke’s Bay and around the world. International postgraduates can pursue their Wine Business and Innovation qualification entirely online (offshore part-time study options offered) or full-time on campus (from mid-2023) You can select. This allows students to align their studies with their current work and other commitments such as family. This provides an exciting opportunity for EIT to offer these programs to a wide variety of students, both domestically and internationally, in the same classroom. The programs available are Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, and Master’s Degree in Wine Business and Innovation.

Experiential learning is one of EIT’s strengths. The Entrepreneurship in the Wine Business course arranges, conducts and considers interviews with people you admire and want to learn from in the wine industry. Connections built in this way can lead to further conversations. In one recent case, “work,” he said.

That’s the power of the EIT credential: industry engagement. “The Wine Business and Innovation Postgraduate Qualification Series was developed because the New Zealand wine industry recognized the need for professional development to manage,” said Dean of the School of Viticulture and Wine Science. Sue Blackmore says

In consultation with industry, EIT has developed the concept of a modular suite of postgraduate courses leading to master’s degrees. Core courses include topics such as wine industry technology and innovation, wine industry sustainability, global wine marketing, wine business entrepreneurship, and current issues in the global and national wine industry.

“These are based on EIT business school electives (such as digital marketing and strategic financial management) and research project opportunities with industry relevance or academic papers,” says Blackmore.

What makes Blackmore the perfect person to lead the EIT division is not only her passion and love for wine, but her wealth of experience. With a Bachelor of Science in Horticultural Science, a Master of Science in Applied Science (Oenology), a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, and her more than 20 years of experience in the field, Blackmore explains how important it is to “conserve resources.” You have a passion that emphasizes who you are. Considering extreme climate change, she recycles and limits her waste.

It’s a sentiment shared by Hill, Program Coordinator for the Graduate Program Suite in Wine Business and Innovation. “Research shows that wine consumers, especially younger consumers, value sustainability and want to see evidence of it in the products they buy and consume. It’s important to understand and help them talk about their own sustainability,” he says.

In his lectures, Hill discusses, for example, the Indigenous dimension of sustainability. These have led to a broader discussion about the New Zealand wine industry and how it builds an inclusive sense of place in New Zealand wine. , biodynamics and, more recently, regenerative viticulture, all of which are covered in the programme,” he says.

To study wine business and innovation at postgraduate level in one of New Zealand’s leading wine regions, click here to learn more about the programs offered at Eastern University of Technology.

*EIT is now part of Te Pūkenga. Te Pūkenga brings together New Zealand’s Institute of Technology, Polytechnics and nine industry training institutions to create a network of workplace, campus and online learning.

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