On Wednesday, 17 April, KEDGE Business School opened almost 1,000 m² of space at its Bordeaux campus dedicated to the Wine & Spirits Academy and Executive Education: new classrooms and new work spaces, including a creativity room and a wine tasting room and cellar, christened Wine Lab, in tribute to Gérard Basset, a graduate of KEDGE and Master of Wine, Master Sommelier and Best Sommelier of the World.
The KEDGE Wine & Spirits Academy has acquired a Wine Lab consisting of two modular rooms, decorated with photos by the famous wine industry photographer, Leif Carlsson, who immortalises vineyards the world over. The main room also pays homage to a former student of KEDGE’s Wine MBA, a major of the class of 2007-2008 and one of the wine leading lights, Gérard Basset. A memorial plaque in his name was unveiled during the evening by his wife Nina Basset and his son Romané.
“These rooms symbolise our vision of the future and are a renewed pledge. They also pay tribute to Gérard Basset, the embodiment of excellence, professionalism, humility, sharing, and transmission. His name, on the memorial plaque at the entrance to our tasting room, makes us strive for excellence and pushes us to continue looking forward and do better. The KEDGE Wine & Spirits Academy intends to continue its development and this Wine Lab will enable us to do it confidently and ambitiously,” explains Jérémy Cukierman, Master of Wine and Director of the KEDGE Wine & Spirits Academy.
Wine courses have been organised at KEDGE for the last 18 years. With this new space, the Wine & Spirits Academy has chosen to equip itself with outstanding teaching tools in order to create the best possible learning environment and enhance the student experience.
At the official opening of these new spaces, which now bring together wine expertise and KEDGE Executive Education, a special collaboration was announced in the form of a new continuous training programme designed for professionals in the wine-producing sector, named WBE (Wine & Business Essentials), which will start next November. This 5-day programme, thought up and dispensed in partnership with Bordeaux Sciences Agro, will cover the themes of wine-growing, the wine-making process, tasting, wine pairings, export, marketing and markets.
“We are proud to have opened this new Executive Education space. It is aligned with our development strategy and will help us to create the best possible conditions for welcoming our learners,” says Jean-Luc Faye, Director of KEDGE Executive Education.
About KEDGE Wine & Spirits Academy:
The KEDGE Wine & Spirits Academy is based in Bordeaux, worldwide capital of wine. With a presence at the heart of the various bodies of the wine-producing industry, relaying information and influence, the Wine & Spirits Academy not only has the aim of training managers in the wine and spirits sector but also of supporting changes in the industry by offering help in decision-making, by developing local & international projects to provide economic support to stakeholders and by channelling momentum.
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About KEDGE Executive Education:
For more than 250 years, KEDGE has trained professionals on its campuses in France and abroad, supporting change within organisations through the deployment of solutions designed for the development of skills and the transformation of professional practices. In doing so, KEDGE designs and provides companies and their staff with a 360° range of Executive Education solutions (short courses, courses leading to certificates or diplomas or tailored courses) enabling them to meet their strategic and operational challenges. Today, almost 4,000 professionals are trained each year on continuous professional development courses at KEDGE.
About KEDGE Business School:
KEDGE is a leading French business school with four campuses in France (Paris, Bordeaux, Marseilles and Toulon), three abroad (Shanghai, Suzhou and Dakar) and three partner campuses (Avignon, Bastia and Bayonne). The KEDGE community is made up of 12,600 students (including 25% coming from abroad), 183 professors (including 44% coming from abroad), 275 international academic partners and 60,150 alumni around the world. KEDGE offers 36 programmes in management, designed for students and industry professionals. It also provides tailor-made educational programmes for businesses at national and international levels. KEDGE Business School is AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA-accredited, and is a member of the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles. It is also recognised by the French government, with labelised programmes, and has obtained the EESPIG label. KEDGE was ranked 35th by the Financial Times in the European Business School ranking and 36th globally in its Executive MBA ranking.
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