Applications Are Now Open for the October 2022 Intake of the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence
After a highly successful first year, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), in collaboration with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), has opened registration for the October 2022 intake of the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence.
Developed by researchers at ZHAW’s Coffee Excellence Center, the postgraduate CAS in Coffee Excellence is an online learning course designed to provide coffee professionals with a multidisciplinary overview of applied sciences within the academic world of specialty coffee. Sanremo Coffee Machines, Sucafina, BWT, and Probat support this program and its content as research partners.
The program is comprised of three academic modules which cover green coffee, transformation and composition of the bean, and extraction and sensory. Previously a hybrid course, the program is now delivered exclusively via distance learning and includes virtual classrooms with recognized experts, a self-learning research project for assessment, and new interactive virtual lab sessions where instructors invite students to their labs for hands-on virtual experiments. Each module takes 21 weeks with a workload of 125 hours (6-7 hours per week). Successful applicants earn 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and are awarded a “Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence” from ZHAW.
“The success of our postgraduate program demonstrates the great need for advanced education on coffee that is science-based and covers the whole value chain from crop to cup,” says Dr. Chahan Yeretzian, Head of the Coffee Excellence Center at ZHAW. “Over the past decade, a whole generation of increasingly educated coffee professionals has emerged, eager to expand their understanding of coffee with actionable and validated insight from sciences. For this the Coffee Excellence Center is partnering with a growing number of the most innovative companies in the coffee industry—presently Sucafina, Probat, Sanremo, and BWT—to conduct joint research projects and develop new and original program content. And of course, we are partnering with the Specialty Coffee Association, to support the dissemination and communication of the CAS program and jointly create a global and comprehensive education landscape on coffee.”
Applications are now open for the October 2022 intake. The course is available to people with a university degree and at least two years of professional coffee or related field experience. Persons without a university degree but who have at least two years of professional experience in the coffee industry or related areas may also apply. Good written and oral skills in English are required.
Registration is open until August 22, 2022 with a start date of October 3, 2022. Learn more about the CAS in Coffee Excellence at zhaw.ch.