The student Sergi Canals will be embarking on two- year stay at the University of Californias thanks to the Balsells-Generalitat scholarship. For the first time, this programme is providing funding to cover the cost of registration fees and living expenses so that students can study the Master’s programme in Viticulture and Oenology at UC Davis, one of the 10 campuses in the University of California, which is considered one of the most important public university systems in the world

The grant has an initial duration of 12 months, renewable for another 12, and is worth $60,000 a year, financed jointly by the Balsells Foundation and the Generalitat (Catalan Government.)

For Sergi Canals, who completed his degree in Oenology at the URV, this is an “important opportunity to learn from and closely follow the research carried out at one of the leading educational institutions in the world, the University of California, Davis. The university has a tremendous capacity to conduct research and find new solutions”, he explained.

Throughout his life, Canals has been in close contact with the world of wine thanks to the small winery that his family owns in his home town of Sant Sadurní, “In the medium to long-term, I hope that this opportunity will enable me to bring new ideas back home,” he says. First, however, he hopes to continue training and gaining experience “by traveling the world and seeing how the grape harvest is carried out in other wine regions.” He also stressed the importance of research, “it is becoming increasingly necessary in the wine world. Many wineries have their own research departments whose purpose is to further expand knowledge.”

Having obtained his degree at the URV’s Faculty of Oenology, Canales expressed his satisfaction regarding the quality of the education that he received. In particular he emphasised “the family-like relationships between staff and students. There was mutual respect and a willingness to learn and try out new things in the world of winemaking. We were a good team together”, he said.

This year, Balsells-Generalitat scholarships have included a new grants programme to enable Catalan students to study master’s degrees at the University of California, Davis in science and food technology, systems engineering and biological viticulture and oenology. The initiative is an expansion of the programmes that have existed since 1996 in the field of engineering at the University of California, Irvine, and since 2009 at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Davis is one of the 10 campuses that make up the University of California, widely regarded as one of the best public university systems in the world. The university is known for its academic excellence and its global impact.