The 'Viticulture Smart Academy' training course put on by the Azienda Agricola Arnaldo Caprai di Montefalco in partnership with ITS Umbria is one of the 10 selected for the 2021 Dual Excellence Award, the initiative organised annually by the Italian-German Chamber of Commerce dedicated to the valorisation of virtuous dual training projects in Italy.
The training project arose from the desire to actively collaborate in the training of future business operators and technicians by sharing decades of experience in the field of excellent wine production and wine research and innovation. The project is aligned with the strategic lines of the Umbria Region, in particular with the guidelines taken on research and innovation with the 2014-2020 programming and reported in the document "The Regional Strategic Framework 2014-2020", through the RIS3 to pursue the general objective aimed at activating local potential by leveraging regional assets, talents, through access to research results and the promotion of new entrepreneurship.
Some 20 students took part in the training course, who from April to December 2021 attended 657 hours of study to obtain the State Tertiary Education Diploma equal to level V of the European Qualifications Framework -EQF.
'In recent years,' said Marco Caprai, 'the digital transformation of the agricultural sector has accentuated the problem of generational turnover of employees in all company departments. In the face of this revolution, it is clear that companies will increasingly need highly specialised, digital-native technicians. To do this, the ITS is an extraordinary tool in which we have been partners since 2014: as Mario Draghi says, ITS is a great opportunity for Italian agriculture, also in function of the PNR projects. Being among the ten selected for this fourth edition of the Dual Excellence Award, together with big names in Italian industry such as Dallara, is a great honour for us and an incentive to continue along this path, in which we have always believed: the relationship between business and the world of research, universities and schools in general has been at the heart of our activities and philosophy for many years.
The AHK Italien Award is realised with the support of the German Ministry of Education (BMBF) and its GOVET office in the context of the ITA-GER bilateral cooperation agreements. Now in its fourth edition, its objectives are to highlight companies engaged in virtuous dual projects in Italy, to promote the dual vocational culture in Italy, and to contribute to the continuous development of the dual system in Italy. A total of 32 projects participated in the 2021 edition of the award, with a total of 14 ITS involved from 11 regions, with 524 students involved in the competing courses. The jury of Italian-German experts from the world of institutions, entrepreneurship and education decided to award the silver medal to the Umbrian project following the following evaluation criteria: duality, commitment, sustainability, originality, digital&innovation readiness, social purpose.
ARNALDO CAPRAI FARM AT A GLANCE
Few other wineries in Italy and around the world are immediately identified just by mentioning the name of the denomination to which they belong, like Arnaldo Caprai, itself a symbol of Sagrantino di Montefalco. A unique reality, synonymous with Italian excellence, capable of creating wines that are out of the ordinary in terms of depth, elegance and longevity: not only reds, but also whites. The credit for this adventure that began in the late 1970s goes to Marco Caprai, Arnaldo's son. It was he, in fact, more than anyone else who believed in the richness of Sagrantino, reinterpreting it in a modern key, through the most innovative production and business management methods, which have enabled him to win the favour of the public and critics all over the world. Not to be outdone by the whites: Arnaldo Caprai's Grecante, 100% Grechetto, managed to conquer Wine Spectator's Top100.
A great company, Arnaldo Caprai, that guards a green soul, considering issues concerning sustainability, protection and safeguarding the environment as fundamental. The point of observation always remains the same: trying to behave in harmony with natural evolution cycles, preserving and enhancing the territory in which it operates. This is why the company decided to create an Environmental Management System that complies with international regulations, developing a voluntary territorial protocol of environmental, economic and social sustainability of the production process.
It is in this unparalleled context that wines of unforgettable substance are born, complex and elegant, capable of narrating the best of an entire region, Umbria.
