Students from around the world will soon be arriving in Sochi for the second edition of the Russian International Olympic University’s (RIOU) Master of Sport Administration (MSA) course – a next generation programme providing a unique sports industry education. Over the next 10 months, the course, conducted in English, will train students from 12 countries in the strategic and operational skills needed to manage sports organisations, events and facilities in any economic environment. Many of the students have been awarded scholarships by the Vladimir Potanin Foundation to support their studies in Sochi, which will commence on 22 September.
The majority of students hail from National Olympic Committees or other sports industry backgrounds; some are even former elite-level athletes themselves. This year’s intake includes Catherine O’Grady (Ireland), a world champion in kickboxing; Ma Changyu (China), a multiple winner of National Winter Games in short track speed skating; Nikoletopoulou Ira Zafeira (Greece), chief sports news editor for the OPAP TV channel; and marathon runner Kalke Prath Parfull (India). RIOU’s MSA students will study modules such as Economics of Sport and the Olympic Games; Governance, Politics and the Olympic Movement; Research Methods in Sport Management; Sport and the Olympic Games as a Business; and Sport Marketing and Communications. Classes will be taught by leading Russian and international experts in sport management, as well as professors from acclaimed universities and Olympic Studies Centres.
RIOU Rector Professor Lev Belousov said: “Our MSA course offers full immersion in the sport management profession. Apart from gaining theoretical knowledge, our students will see with their own eyes how sporting facilities and events are organised, and how effective marketing strategies are developed. Sochi’s Olympic venues provide excellent opportunities for this. This year Sochi will be hosting more international events, such as the Formula One Russian Grand Prix. This will be the first chance for our students to get a hands-on management experience and will serve them well during the rest of the course.”
Ireland’s Catherine O’Grady outlined the appeal of the MSA to her, saying: “For as long as I can remember, my goal in life has been to manage high performance athletes. RIOU’s Master of Sport Administration course holds the key to achieving this ambition by providing me with the competitive edge I strive for. Working within an Olympic setting will be like a dream come true, while an understanding of the business, marketing and management worlds that are intrinsically entwined with the sports industry and its smooth and successful operations will undoubtedly benefit me and open a vast array of doors in the sports business sector. On a more profound and personal level, it’s a fact that women are still largely under-represented in leadership roles within the sporting realm, especially as high-performance coaches. This opportunity with RIOU can only be for the good by providing more women with the necessary professional skills to both succeed in and influence the sports industry in the future. I fully appreciate that being chosen as the Irish representative on RIOU’s MSA course is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I will ensure that I gain as much experience and knowledge from it as I possibly can.”
This year the Russian International Olympic University is launching its first full-time and distance learning MSA courses in the Russian language. The results of the competition to join the programmes will be announced after 15 September.
