Hello! I'm Andrew smith - an aspiring wine maker & viticulturist. Hopefully a future winery owner and New Zealand resident. I have been unconditionally accepted into the Eastern Institute of Technology in Hawkes bay, New Zealand. This is an undergraduate degree course which allows me to study the bachelor of wine science and bachelor of viticulture congruently.
Unfortunately, I have no money, and have been unable to secure any grant -there are no funding opportunities for graduates who wish to take their studies internationally. There is only one college in Europe which offers this undergraduate degree, in English and places are very limited. I am very interested in new world wines, especially reds. The programme I have been accepted into has an onsite winery and research centre offering the exact style of winemaking that I am interested in.
The amount asked is for the first year of tuition as well as expenses required to travel over there, organise a student and work visa, and living expenses.
Here is a break-down of costs, in pounds:
Tuition fees -£9700
College fees & visas-£2270
Living expenses-£7450 (the minimum required by the NZ immigration when issuing a student visa)
PayPal fees (3.5%, applied to successful projects)
I have to confirm that I'll be taking up my place, and pay my tuition and college fees up front, so my "minimum needed" is £11350, which is the combination of these costs plus a percentage to cover PayPal fees.
Ultimately, my goal is to start my own boutique winery, which I would love to do in New Zealand. Another interest would be to work in a variety of environments in new world wineries to gain a full knowledge of the industry. Hopefully then combine it all to create something unique and exciting.