Wine Industry Benefits as Young Viticulturist Becomes AMP Scholarship Recipient
Hawkes Bay Young Viticulturist of the Year, Alice Rule (24), is one step closer to developing an app to provide grape growers with simple, intuitive representations of data to help them become more sustainable, now she has become a recipient of a 2015 AMP Scholarship, worth $10,000.
The judges were delighted to award the Scholarship at the AMP Scholarships National Awards evening held the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The judges included: Dame Rosanne Meo (DNZM), clinical psychologist Dr Jane Magnusson, 2014 AMP Scholarship recipient and founding trustee of PINC & STEEL Lou James, 42 Below co-founder Justine Troy and Image Centre Group executive director Mike Hutcheson; as well as AMP’s GM HR Shaun Philip and COO Kevin Bouchier.
“Having worked in vineyards capturing data manually, I set out to find a way to use robotic platforms to enhance the accuracy of the datasets,” says Alice. “Teaming up with a technology developing company, we are confident this vision can become a reality.”
Alice was brought up in the country and says sustainability has always played a major part in how she thinks. She has just completed a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology, minoring in Business Management at Lincoln University and won the Esk Valley Top Viticulture Student award in 2010.
“I want to help preserve precious resources for generations to come as current processes are inaccurate and costly,” says Alice. “However, using a drone to provide real time imagery to a cloud based analytics system will allow growers to apply what they need when they need it.”
Jeff Ruscoe, Chief Customer Officer at AMP says: “The AMP Scholarship recipients show just where a great Kiwi ‘can do’ attitude can take you, no matter what your ‘thing’. Each year, we’re incredibly impressed by the willingness recipients have to push their personal limits and to push barriers in order to succeed. This year is no exception and we praise the courage, passion, determination and commitment of all who applied for the scholarships. It’s a rewarding feeling to give something back to New Zealanders showing such great Kiwi talent.”
Since 1998 AMP has dedicated more than $2.2 million towards helping over 190 everyday Kiwis do their thing. For more information, visit doyourthing.co.nz.
ENDS
Prepared on behalf of AMP Scholarships programme by the pr shop. For more information or images, please contact Lindsay Stanley on lindsay@theprshop.co.nz or 09 360 0385.