Winners announced in inaugural Excellence in Education Awards
September 18, 2026 (London, UK) — From record-breaking sake education campaigns in Japan to transforming access to qualifications in South Africa, WSET, the global leader in drinks education, has announced the winners of its inaugural Excellence in Education Awards, honouring outstanding achievement across its worldwide network of more than 800 course providers.
The awards, presented in a virtual ceremony at WSET’s annual Global APP Summit, recognise excellence across three categories: Enterprise, Student Experience and Social Impact. The winners and highly commended recipients span six countries across three continents, reflecting the diversity, innovation and impact of WSET course providers worldwide. The awards attracted 110 submissions from across 28 countries and territories, highlighting the breadth of talent, innovation and impact across WSET’s global network.
This year’s winners were Academie du Vin Co Ltd. (Japan), recipient of the Enterprise Award for its innovative WSET Sake Week campaign that generated record enrolments and engaged new audiences in sake education; WiSP (France), winner of the Student Experience Award for its personalised and inclusive approach to learning, combining expert teaching with innovative educational tools; and The International Wine Education Centre (South Africa), received the Social Impact Award for its long-standing commitment to widening access to drinks education and creating opportunities for learners from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.
Highly Commended recipients were Enderun Colleges Inc. (Philippines) for creating meaningful career opportunities through drinks education; Eno Cultura (Brazil) for its commitment to wine education, learner engagement and social impact, becoming the only course provider to receive highly commended status in all three award categories; Panama Wine Academy (Panama) for advancing inclusion and diversity through drinks education; and TAFE NSW Sydney Wine Academy (Australia) for developing the next generation of wine professionals through high-quality education and industry engagement.
Michelle Brampton, CEO of WSET, said: “Course providers are at the heart of everything we do at WSET. They bring our qualifications to life, inspire learners and help us fulfil our purpose of empowering people and supporting the drinks industry from producer to consumer.
We launched the Excellence in Education Awards to recognise and celebrate that contribution. The quality of submissions was exceptional, and I’m delighted to see the achievements of our winners and highly commended recipients recognised today.”
Full details of the winners and highly commended recipients are available at https://www.wsetglobal.com/
About WSET
WSET is the global leader in drinks education, setting the international standard for qualifications in wine, spirits, sake and beer. Since 1969, WSET has awarded qualifications to over 1.5 million candidates worldwide. Our four progressive levels of study – from beginner to expert-level diploma – are open to both industry professionals and enthusiasts. In 2024/25, over 120,000 candidates studied for a WSET qualification, with courses available in more than 80 countries and 15 languages. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn
