At its meeting of February 20, 2020, the Senate of the University of West Attica (UniWA) in Athens, Greece resolved to award the title of Honorary Professor to Professor Gergely Szolnoki from the Department of Wine and Beverage Business at Hochschule Geisenheim University. The decision was based on the outstanding scientific work undertaken by Szolnoki and the close cooperation between the Geisenheim researcher and the university in Athens. Professor Szolnoki is currently supervising a doctoral thesis on the topic of the “Greek wine and spirits market” at UNIWA and is also heading up a joint DAAD project which will facilitate an intensive exchange between Hochschule Geisenheim University and UNIWA both in the fields of teaching and research for a period of three years. Professor Szolnoki expressed his pleasure on receiving this international recognition: “UNIWA is the only university in Greece offering viticulture and enology as Bachelor’s and Master’s degree courses. Maintaining a long-term cooperation with this traditional university in Athens is of vital importance. The three-year DAAD project offers a unique opportunity to bring together several departments and scientists from both universities in the fields of viticulture, crop protection, soil science, microbiology, enology and wine business. However, beyond the DAAD project, a long-term cooperation with UNIWA is being planned within the scope of Hochschule Geisenheim University's internationalization strategy”.
Similar to the block seminar in the Master’s program at Sciences Agro in Bordeaux, Professor Szolnoki also plans to hold an annual lecture on wine marketing and consumer research in Athens. In addition, the Geisenheim researcher is particularly looking forward to cooperating with UNIWA on his special research fields of consumer behavior and wine tourism.
