The University of Jaen has created the world’s first comprehensive doctoral program in olive oil.
The doctorate is the highest academic degree, which aims to educate future scholars and professionals around their field of specialization.
Although in the wine category there has been oenology for years, the most complete curriculum for the industry, for olive oil and its products, there was nothing similar anywhere in the world, until recently.
The University of Jaen (Jaen University) has created a specialized curriculum for olive oil that will provide comprehensive knowledge about olive oil, its products and of course research. It is no coincidence that the first doctoral program in olive oil is offered by the University of Jaen. Jaen is a beautiful provincial town in Andalusia, Spain, which has the largest number of olive groves in the world and is the World Olive Capital.
Sebastián Sánchez Villasclaras, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Jaen, and Director of the Center for Olive and Olive Oil Research spoke to the Wolf Post about the new doctoral program, its potential and the fundamental importance of educating professionals in full of opportunities, such as the oil industry. In fact, Professor Villasclaras stressed the importance of participation of students from around the world in this program.
As he stated in his interview, “the University of Jaen, thanks to its deep tradition as an area with olive oil, is able to offer seminars and degrees around olive oil in the most crucial areas in the world, such as:
- master in Olives and Olive oils (Οlivar y Οils de Οiva)
- Specialist in Olive oil tasting (Expert in Olive Oil Tasting)
Students from both Spain and other regions (Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Tunisia) who have attended these programs asked to have the opportunity to immerse themselves even more in this field. Thus, about a decade ago, the idea for the creation of a comprehensive program was born, which will enable students to study in depth and analyze the olive oil industry, receiving the corresponding degree of specialization.
Today, the University of Jaen has the opportunity to offer this doctoral degree in Olive Oil, as the university research center in the coming months becomes the official Research Center for Olive Oil and Olive Oil.
The new doctoral program is structured around research in the olive oil sector, its different categories and its new areas of development combining production with marketing.