Students Create Virtual Winery in Innovative Educational Project
Small entrepreneurs grow. For now, only in the virtual world. In the future, we will see. The important thing is to acquire the basics, the necessary tools to not be unprepared when facing the challenges of the working world.
And this, after all, is the goal of the experimental project undertaken by the Istituto tecnico commerciale «Bazoli» di Desenzano: a project that allowed the students of class 5D to become entrepreneurs and create their own company.
Thus, yesterday, in the “Orologio” hall of the municipality of Desenzano, teachers and students, in the presence of Principal Giorgio Montanari, President of the Desenzano City Council Maria Ida Germontani, and Provincial Agriculture Councilor Giampaolo Mantelli, officially presented the «Cantine Cin Cin», a definitely virtual winery, but one conceived and launched with full adherence to all economic and marketing rules.
The students, guided by Professor Concetta Grosso, worked for two years on this “project area,” which consumed 10 percent of their teaching hours: resulting in an experiment that is practically unique in our province, which, despite the lack of funds for professional support and consulting, allowed some students nearing high school graduation to test themselves for a couple of years against the realities of the outside work environment.
All this was done by choosing a commercial sector, agriculture, which on Lake Garda offers increasing potential, including from a tourist perspective. «It is very positive that these students have looked at agriculture with a new perspective compared to what was happening a few years ago» — said Councilor Mantelli —. Today, especially in areas like Garda, it’s no longer possible to separate farming and tourism. Wine and food tourism become the key to the survival of businesses, as the great success of initiatives like Cantine Aperte has foreshadowed.
Divided into five working groups, the students of 5D began by studying the history of Lower Garda from 1900, then moved on to analyze the land morphology. Afterwards, thanks to the collaboration with Cantine Visconti of Desenzano and those of Valtenesi and Lugana di Moniga, they could understand the reality of a winery and the importance of viticulture and olive cultivation in the area.
Finally, they addressed aspects related to the establishment of a company from a legal and economic standpoint, with marketing research, also hypothesizing a wine, Lugana, with its specific characteristics, a label, and a launching slogan.
«It was additional work compared to what the students already had to do» — said Professor Grosso —. «But certainly, we had the opportunity to approach teaching in a completely different way, giving the students the chance to better know themselves and to look at the world of work with a bit of creativity and organizational skills».
In short, an experience that many more schools in the still overly insular Italian educational system should undertake.