The Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) has finalized formation of the university faculty list – lecturers for subjects, included in a one-year MSA programme (Master of Sport Administration). The programme is based on multi-faceted Olympic legacy transformed into a unique innovative educational product.
Leading Russian and foreign experts in sport management participated in the programme's development, those who are supposed to read modules of the course as well. Guy Masterman, Chair of the Academy of Sport and Physical Activity at Sheffield Hallam University (UK), will head "Sport Marketing and Communications" module. Vassil Girginov, Professor of the School of sport and education in Brunel University (UK) –"Governance, Politics and the Olympic Movement". Nikolay Peshin, Doctor of Law, Lomonosov MSU (Russia) will be in charge of "The Economics of Sport and the Olympics". "Research Methods for Sport Management" module will be led by James Skinner, Professor of Griffith Business School (Australia), and the module "The Business of Sport and the Olympics" – by Benoit Seguin.
About 20 professors from leading universities in 8 countries will be engaged in lecturing and workshop facilitation for the MSA programme. Among them are such eminent scientists as: Vladimir Andreff, Doctor of Economics, Professor Emeritus at the University Pantheon Sorbonne (France); Simon Chadwick, Professor of the Coventry University Business School (UK), marketing consultant for UEFA, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, the International Tennis Federation; Jim Parry, Professor at Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic) and University of Leeds (UK), founding director of the British Olympic Academy, and others.
RIOU rector, professor Lev Belousov commented: "In fact, it is difficult to highlight any of our lecturers as they are all the best in their fields. Our programme is designed for one year and it consists of five modules. Each module has compulsory and optional courses. Teaching will be based on the system of «visiting professorship», when a professor comes to the university, delivers his/her course, forms a group of students who, under his/her supervision, but in a distance learning mode, prepare to defend their graduation paper. Graduation paper is something between diploma work and PhD thesis, e.g. what is called in the western education system Master's thesis".
The МSA curriculum involves traditional forms of teaching – lectures and seminars, intrinsic to a classical academic institution, as well as other forms: trainings, cases, interactive classes, cascade education and some other innovative methods practiced by modern business schools.
The course "Master of Sport Administration" is designed for the personnel of National Olympic Committees, international and Russian sport federations, clubs, marketing agencies, sport organizations and business executives. Our task is to form a new generation of effective managers, who have knowledge and skills of both strategic and operational management of sport organizations, events and venues in any economic environment. "In this programme we synthesize Russian and western experience. As a result, our graduates will be equipped with universal knowledge and will be able to work in any country of the world", - said Lev Belousov.
We are still accepting applications for the English-language version of the MSA course. Classes will start in September this year in the brand new university campus in Sochi center.
