Empowering the Next Generation of Wine + Data Leaders: Announcing a Very Special Gift
Say “data” to most people in the wine industry, and they think about numbers and spreadsheets.
When I say “data” in the context of Enolytics, I think about images and visualizations.
The gap between those two assumptions is key, we believe, to making sense – and making productive use – of the vast amounts of information that’s available to us today.
Imagine transforming numbers to images, and spreadsheets to visualizations. Imagine seeing patterns and trends that are otherwise invisible. Imagine being able to read the stories about your wine business that numbers hide.
This isn’t some pipe dream. Let me share an example of why not.
Next week I’ll be returning to INSEEC Business School in Bordeaux to teach a course to MBA students that encompasses three topics: entrepreneurship, narrative and data for wine.
One of the most critical building blocks for the data module of the course needs, IMO, to empower the students to do exactly what I’m discussing here: to see patterns and trends that will help whatever wine business they join after graduation.
It’s critical, I think, to show them that this isn’t a pipe dream.
It’s critical to put that tool into their hands, along with the confidence to use it.
How do I expect to do that?
By sharing one of the very same tools that Enolytics’ data team uses, that I demonstrated in a case study last week. It’s called Qlik and, for the first time in my teaching schedule, I’ll be offering access to students through the Qlik Academic Program, at no charge to them.
How do students benefit from this? They will have:
Access to the software
Access to the Continuous Classroom online learning platform, including a Data Analytics curriculum
The opportunity to earn a Qlik Sense Qualification
Access to a community forum and customer support
They’ll have the luxury of a full year of access, which is plenty of time to get the lay of the land of a powerful data visualization platform.
They’ll see that transforming numbers to images isn’t some pipe dream.
They’ll start learning to read the stories of wine business that are contained within industry data.
Who knows what else they’ll do with this tool in their toolkit?
I have no idea. But I’m stoked to find out.
So what’s the bottom line here?
That the wine industry will benefit from more people working in wine who GET the power of data. We’ll benefit from more people who are empowered to bridge the gap between “data as spreadsheets” and “data as visualizations.”
Working with data doesn’t have to be a mystery. It doesn’t have to be an exclusive club that only some people and some companies can access.
The more people in the boat, the better. Which is why I’ll be bringing the same access to universities wherever I teach, anywhere in the world. Bologna, Cambridge (both in Massachusetts and England), Adelaide, Cape Town, Sonoma…? I’m looking at you, for starters.
I look forward, sincerely, to that. And to sharing with you next week how the first steps in this direction are taking shape.
Any questions or comments? Let me know, as always.
Thank you, also as always, for reading.