On June 24, 2019, to the tune of Katy Perry’s “Firework”– students of the inaugural class of ISIPCA’s Master of Science, Scent Design and Creation program marched into an auditorium filled with friends, family, fellow students, teachers, and our perfumers and executives to proudly receive their diplomas.

The day marked the completion of a 3-year course of study for these students. In 2016, we formed a unique partnership with ISIPCA to create the MSc Scent Design and Creation.

An Uncommon Partnership

We wanted to challenge and tranform the way perfumers and scent design managers of the future were educated and knew ISIPCA would be a great partner.

Valery Claude, our VP of Creation Design and Innovation, Global Fragrance said “We know being successful in the fragrance industry today requires a broad range of interpersonal skills and market knowledge that complements a strong technical olfactive foundation. The marketplace is more global than ever – and that people from all over the world can learn from each other and together develop collaborations and relationships that have important new and meaningful results. We have great respect for ISIPCA’s reputation and expertise and know that together we will build a unique partnership that will educate and prepare students for success in careers in the world of fragrance”.

The Ceremony

The results of the partnership were in full view. After remarks by Cécile Montier Ecalle, Director of ISIPCA and Segolene Prot, our VP of HR, Global Fragrance – new graduates Andrew Everett, Shin Oba, Jihee Han and Eva Niezgodzki all shared reminisces of their three years at ISIPCA.

They recounted the challenges of learning new materials (800!), accords and schema but also the joys of demonstrating what they learned during their internships at IFF. They remembered the magical moment their first year when they visited Grasse in February to experience mimosa in bloom and then again, this past May to participate in the rose harvest.

They spoke about their frustration and pride when they developed their first accords and the floral bouquet they each crafted from accords their classmates had created. They remembered the many IFF Insight sessions that helped them to know and understand the many career paths within the fragrance industry.

The Future of Perfumery

IFF senior perfumers, Ricardo Moya and Soraia Da Cost Silva, in their dual roles as ISIPCA alumni and student mentors, shared stories about their own time at ISIPCA and their pride in these new graduates. The inaugural class drew students from all over the world – China, Japan, Korean, India, France, Italy and US. The new graduates are ready to start their careers –some as perfumer and Scent Design trainees, others exploring a range of opportunities.

Andrew Everett, who is now a perfumer trainee at our New York headquarters comments: “Attending ISIPCA meant dropping everything to move overseas and committing three years to a subject I knew very little about. Yet somehow — at the same time — it was the most obvious choice.  That’s how it was for me, and that’s how it was for my entire class, which felt more like a family than anything else. Even though I graduated I still haven’t processed that it’s over.  I’m still half-waiting for ISIPCA to write and say we have another year left to go. But the great thing about creating a family is that family never really goes away.”

Sofia Gavrill, perfumer trainee at our Hamburg, Germany site, had this to say about her ISIPCA experience: “995 days full of meaningful experiences I’ve gained thanks to my exposure to unique people coming from other 7 different cultures. On October 3, 2016, the only thing in common I had with them was the same “crazy” passion for Perfumery. On June 24, 2019, I realized that there are so many things in common I have had with them; the greatest thing in common is the memories I’ve built with them during these three years.”

Sumukha Kashyap, Scent Design trainee also in Hamburg shared; “"My experience at in the Scent Design and Creation program was one of my most valuable experiences. I loved learning from my multicultural classmates, teachers and mentors at IFF. The program has helped me take important steps to achieve my goals. Graduation was special to my classmates and me as we begin our journey into the fragrance industry that we love."

Shinichiro Oba, perfumer trainee, now based at IFF Singapore adds; “I can’t imagine that I took an interview and an Olfactive Intelligence Test at IFF New York three years ago, and now I have graduated from this program with my passionate international classmates now. My two internship mentors came over to the graduation from the Netherlands, and they kindly shared their advice on the importance of believing in myself. I also learned from my experience at ISIPCA that understanding and accepting the difference is one of the keys in the international environment, and this insight will help me to work all over the world in the future."

We know that each of these new graduates, in their own way will make the world even more beautifully fragrant as they put their education and talents to use.

Source: https://blogs.iff.com/2019/08/meet-our-first-master-of-scent-design.html