ERNESTO ILLY FOUNDATION
International Masters in:
Coffee Economics and Science
- Ernesto Illy
Introduction on
Masters in Coffee Economics and Science
Masters degree in Coffee Economics and Science is a university masters degree, organized and
proposed by a renowned group of leaders in the field of education: the Ernesto Illy Foundation,
the Università del Caffè of illycaffè, the University of Trieste, University of Udine, International
Superior School of Advanced Studies of Trieste (Sissa), the Association of Molecular Biomedicine
and the District of coffee (Trieste Coffee Cluster).
The masters degree is composed of 400 hours of lessons divided into 18 educational modules and
60 formative university credits. The course work, to be given entirely in English, is open to
graduates worldwide in Economics, Engineering, Sciences, Agriculture and similar disciplines. It
embraces the entire productive cycle of coffee and it is developed in three disciplinary areas:
economical-administrative, biological-agronomic, and technological.
The cost for this Master program is €15,000, however, the Ernesto Illy Foundation offers a limited
number of full and partial scholarships available to worthy graduates, in particular to those who
come from coffee producing countries.
This 5-month program is scheduled to begin in January 2013, and it will be held on the premises
of illycaffè (Trieste, Italy). Its objective is to offer an in-depth multidisciplinary preparation to
graduates interested in working in the world of coffee, and more generally, in the field of agroalimentary -- in every stage of the productive cycle -- from the cultivation to the catering industry,
including logistics and the industrial process.
The program also aims to consolidate and develop relations between the regional Universities and
the world of business by transferring the technological and cultural know-how of illycaffè, the
moral and scientific legacies of Dr. Illy and the role of Trieste as the world’s most advanced city of
coffee.
For more information, write to [email protected]
Presentation on
Masters in Coffee Economics and Science
The International Master (I & II level) in “Economics and Coffee Science” is devoted to
post-graduate students coming from different faculties (Agriculture, Economics, Engineering and
Science), who intend to acquire a specific professional training on the agronomical, technological
and economical aspects of coffee science; in other words, from the coffee plant until the final
product. Therefore, the proposal of this Master is to provide a broad knowledge that favours a
multi-disciplinary approach. Nevertheless, the unifying criterion is the achievement of the best
quality throughout all the production processes and the commercialization of the product: from
crop production in the field, through sustainable agricultural practices, to the complete healthiness
of the final product. For this reason, the Master must be, first of all, pervaded by an ethical
principle based on the respect for humankind and the environment.
This Master is dedicated to post-graduate students interested in the production and
commercialization of coffee and, in particular, to those coming from coffee-producing countries.
Considering their heterogeneous academic and geographic origin, the courses will be preceded by
lessons focused to fulfil the possible gaps in basic arguments (biology, agronomy, economics,
etc.). The topics of this Master are subdivided in specific areas, such as biology-agronomy,
technology, economics and management that, as a whole, allow to acquire a complete knowledge
on the process and on the product.
The Master on “Economics and Coffee Science” arises from an initiative of the Ernesto Illy
Foundation and involves the Universities and some research Institutes of the Italian region, Friuli
Venezia Gulia. These Institutions possess the competence in coffee science and, in some cases, a
long and consolidated tradition. This Master is explicitly inspired to the values, the scientific and
managerial approaches that characterized the personality of Ernesto Illy, trying to collect his
cultural heredity. Therefore, the dedication of this Master to such a great entrepreneur represents
a homage to his memory and an exhortation to continue along the path he had traced.
INTERNAZIONALE MASTERS (SECOND LEVEL) PROGRAM
(60 cfu) IN:
COFFEE ECONOMICS AND SCIENCE - ERNESTO ILLY
Biological – agronomic area: 15 CFU
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Botany and Physiology (3CFU)
o
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Genetics (3CFU)
o
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Genes and environment. Differentiation Arabica-Robusta. Self-fertility and selfsterility. The genome of Arabica. Varieties of Arabica and genetic diversity.
Molecular methods for the traceability. Genetic base and bean quality.
Agricultural Chemistry (3CFU)
o
•
Systematic of Coffea genus. Morphological and anatomical characteristics of the
plant. Phenological stages: germination, development, flowering, fruit development
and maturation. General and environmental physiological aspects. Micropropagation
techniques. Secondary metabolites in fruits: synthesis, accumulation and effects on
human health. Biotic and abiotic degradation (pre- and post-harvest).
Physical-chemical properties of tropical soils. Soil degradation. Effects of soil
management on biological fertility and recycling of crop residues and organic
wastes. Nutrient cycling in the soil-plant system. Principles of plant mineral
nutrition and plant responses to nutrient deficiency or toxicity. Fertilizers use and
management. Mechanisms of action, metabolic breakdown in plants and fate in the
soil of the main pesticides.
Agronomy, Cultivation and Plant Protection (3CFU)
o
Classical propagation techniques. Soil preparation and fertilization. Planting
systems. Weed control. Crop evaluation. Harvesting processes. Principles of
methodological statistics. Plant protection: principles of integrated control. Insect
and pest control. Fungi, bacteria and virus control. Green coffee storage control.
•
Coffee and sustainable development. Business ethics (3CFU)1
o
The pessimistic view in international commodity markets. Coffee marketing boards
and commodity market reforms. Quality and vulnerability of small scale farmers.
Climate change and coffee production: the Ricardian approach. Ecolabels and
standards, fair trade and market failures. Specialties and terroir. Business ethics.
Corporate social responsibility and the relationship with the supply chain.
Technological area: 12 CFU
A. Selected modules
•
Harvesting and raw coffee (3CFU)
o
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Industrial process (3CFU)
o
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Preliminary operations: cleaning, hulling, grading and electronic sorting. Basic
principles of heat and mass transport. Decaffeination process: methods and
industrial machinery. Roasting process. Roasting methods, industrial roasting
equipments. Grinding process. Chemical, physical and structural changes of grain.
Packaging, chemical-physical changes during packaging, roasted product shelf-life.
Other products: pods, capsule and ‘ready-to-drink’.
Coffee Brewing (3CFU)
o
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Crop evaluation. Manual harvest. Mechanical harvest. Picking from the ground.
Post-harvest selection. Crop quality. Raw bean processing: dry, wet and semi-wet
processing. Process influences on coffee quality. Cleaning and sorting processing.
Storage, packaging, logistics and transportation of raw coffee. Raw bean defects
and their origins.
Extraction methods: infusion and percolation. Chemical and physical characteristics
of brewed coffee. Preparation methods and characterization: filter, moka, espresso.
Brewing machines and main control parameters. Espresso definition. Other
preparations.
Coffee characterization (3CFU)
o
Physiology of perception, chemical senses: taste and olfaction. Cognitive processes.
Introduction to sensory analysis. Sensory analysis typology and goals: filter coffee,
espresso and moka cupping. Main chemical-physical methodologies of analysis to
characterize coffee. Evaluations of different origins. Evaluation of raw coffee defects
and off-flavours. Chemical characterization techniques: volatile, non-volatile
compounds. An outline of regulation and food safety.
Economics - management area: 30 CFU
A. Selected modules
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International sourcing (3CFU)
o
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Complex systems management (3CFU)
o
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Marketing management and marketing planning. Experiential marketing: concepts
and development. Product decisions: global products and services; standardization
versus adaptation; product features and perception; branding decisions in
international markets. Pricing decisions: factors influencing pricing decisions;
objectives, strategies and pricing policies. Distribution decisions: factors influencing
distribution decisions; direct and indirect distribution channels; conventional versus
vertical marketing systems; distribution strategies; Types of channel intermediaries;
Retail and Horeca channels (Hotel, Restaurant, Coffee bar and Catering channels);
selection of channel members; channel management and control; franchising;
branded coffee shops; e-commerce. Promotion decisions: strategies and decisions
in the coffee industry.
Green coffee markets and price formation (3CFU)
o
•
Complex systems: main features. Complexity principles. Complexity principles
applied to economics. Fundamentals of business dynamics. Fundamentals of agent
based theory and simulation. Self-organization. Ecosystems as complex adaptive
systems. Strategies in business ecosystems. Visual thinking fundamentals.
Management applications of visual thinking. Case histories in food sector.
Marketing and distribution channels. Horeca and Retail (3CFU)
o
•
The sourcing process, supplier evaluation and selection, buyer-supplier partnership,
the organization of purchasing activities, centralization and decentralization of
purchasing responsibilities.
World patterns in production and consumption. The green coffee market from
colonialism to national markets. The ICA regulatory system. The post-ICA regime:
from price controls to asymmetric free markets, oligopolies and price instability.
Price patterns since the ‘80s. Cost elasticity and transfer mechanism in coffee
markets.
Markets and consumption models (3CFU)
o
Geographical markets and purchasing/consumption habits. Consumption typologies:
roasted ground coffee, decaffeinated and non-decaffeinated coffee; instant coffee;
in-home consumption (family channel), away-from-home consumption (coffee bar
and catering), serving & vending; innovative consumption: pre-dosed coffee in
pods/capsules. The purchasing process and consumption experience: the decisional
process; cognitive and experiential aspects; consumer values, beliefs and attitudes;
the post-modern consumer. The factors influencing the purchasing/consumption
process: cultural influences, social aspects, personal characteristics, purchase and
use context.
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Quality management and product planning (3CFU)
o
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Competitive strategies in the coffee industry (6CFU)
o
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Change drivers and PEST Analysis for the coffee industry. Industry analysis: a fiveforce approach. The role of complementary products. Competitive forces: a Supply
Chain approach. Globalization drivers and internationalization processes. Does size
matter? Industry consolidation and competitive dynamics in the coffee industry.
Upwards and downwards integration: strategic implications. The conquest of the
coffee consumer: competitive strategies in coffee retailing and the Starbucks model.
Case histories.
Supply chain management (3CFU)
o
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Setting Quality Standards. ISO certification. Six Sigma. The Kano Model. The
balanced scorecard. The Quality Function Deployment (QFD). Benchmarking. The
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA).
Supply Chain Management: the evolution. Supply network design. Supply network
material management.
Trading techniques and risk management (3CFU)
o
The volatility of coffee prices, speculation and fundamentals in commodity markets.
Forecasting techniques. Evaluating coffee price risk exposure. Price risk
management in practice: standard futures and options in the coffee market, overthe-counter market and mixed products.