Those who are employed in the beverage and food branch know Doemens. The institute in Gräfelfing was founded in 1895 and has established itself to a national and international acting company in the field of training, further education as well as consultation and services. Annually there are more than 100 students who are trained for master brewers, malt masters, brewing and beverage technologists and for industry masters in the specialized field of food: every two years there are advanced trainings for process manager beverage industry as well as for beverage business economists. There are also many participants for diverse seminars for different technical and technological topics as well as for trainings and further education. The success and the constant growth is also reflected in a large new building in Gräfeling (close to the headquarters), which will be occupied in October 2021. There are not only more teaching halls and classrooms but the technical centre was expanded, too. Students will have practice-oriented classes here- a real USP at Doemens. Practice-oriented learning: How Doemens combines theory and practice!
Practice-oriented learning: Doemens counts on a unique technical centre
Theory is good- yet not very useful without practice: This philosophy was recognized centuries ago and has been implemented successfully by the Doemens academy for many centuries. Dr. Werner Gloßner explains, “Theory and practice are intermeshed in an optimal way. In our technical centre, we do not only have installations and machines which completely display the brewing process from the malting to the filling and packaging. We also have installations for processing food as well as modern laboratory equipment. We train people according to the latest technical condition. Therefore, more and more companies send their employees to us to get more qualification and training. We educate future professionals and leaders efficiently and goal-oriented- this is our success strategy. For companies, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified professionals. We can help competently –for us, practice-oriented learning comes first.”
The Doemens academy counts on diverse trainings and further education in the field of beer, distillate, non-alcoholic beverage, food and biotechnology. In close cooperation with the HWK and IHK, the academy closes an important gap between universities and colleges on the one hand and skilled workers on the other hand. Particularly future technical leaders can receive the best possible training and further education from the highly qualified Doemens specialists and the extensive range of practical courses. The focus is on recognized professions such as brewing and beverage technologists, master brewers and malt masters, industry masters in the specialized field of food and process manager beverage industry.
Practice-oriented learning at the Doemens savour academy
The seminars of the savour academy are equally important and have been booming for the last years. In two-week seminars, Doemens educates beer, water, juice or distillate sommeliers. Dr. Gloßner comments, “Especially in the last ten years, the diversity in the beverage market has become tremendous. The boom about craft beers has made the know-how of the production and the valuation increasingly important. This is exactly why we have savour and sensors seminars. In this way, breweries and catering businesses train their employees to focus on the value of beer. Our trainings, e.g. as beer sommeliers, are accepted and popular worldwide. We are also able to offer and carry out seminars of the savour academy as in-house courses. We simply go by to the clients’ needs.”
Competent consultation and service for companies
The modern and best equipped technical centre at Doemens does not only have its advantage for a practice-oriented training. It is the basis for a competent consultation, too. Doemens is also a provider for the brewing, beverage and food industry. Consequently, Doemens’ experts can plan and control installations or can advise in terms of industrial hygiene, certification or process optimisation. Doemens is also a competent contact person when it comes to the introduction of new products. In the in-house laboratory, Doemens also carries out services for quality assurance (chemical-technical, microbiological, sensory) or laboratory analytics. The company in Gräfelfing does also have its own yeast bank, which is highly in demand by national and international brewing companies.
“For example, if a brewery wants to release a non-alcoholic beer, with our know-how and our laboratory, we can take over the whole production of the product. In follow-up, the brewery can also obtain the used yeast from us. Especially in this field, we see a high development potential as the diversity of different types of beverages grows constantly, e.g. cidre specialities, hard seltzer products or extraordinary distillates are increasingly on the rise. We recognize new trends and like to support companies in developing new and special products,” Dr. Gloßner clarifies.
Doemens – a success story
Doemens currently employs 35 workers, including highly-qualified brewing engineers and master brewers with a diverse practical expertise. There are also about 15 freelancers who are from the free economy and who are employed in teaching. “A direct connection to the branch is a special concern to us,” says Dr. Gloßner. “This distinguishes us from most state universities. We do not want an ivory tower of science, but we want to have our fingers on the pulse of the time. We combine the newest scientific knowledge with its practical implementation and the best economical suitability. In this way, we establish a win-win situation for all parties: for those who are trained and educated and for all companies that make use of our services.”
“We are proud of the success of Doemes,” Dr. Großler is pleased to say. “We constantly develop. Especially, Corona made us count on more and more digital offers in different formats (inter alia, webinars, seminars in a hybrid format). Experience shows: this offer is also highly demanded and accepted. The whole practical part will certainly be taught here on-site. This is what distinguishes us. Theoretical seminars, however, will increasingly be maintained as digital seminars, which is modern and creates flexibility. The topic of ‘digitalization’ will therefore continue to accompany us in the following years.
With our new building, we establish more space for trainings as well as for our machinery. The machinery offers flexible options such as the filling into party kegs or PET bottles as part of practical lessons or contract fillings. We are optimistic about being able to impress continuously and we look forward to everything that lies ahead.”