Professional Education
Professional education is focused on training world-class experts in sports management whose knowledge will foster transformation of Olympic and Paralympic Games experience into unique solutions for sports industry.
To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on August 8, 2008, the opening day of the 2008 Games in Beijing, by the IOC, the ROC and the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee on the creation of a Russian International Olympic University in Sochi – a unique educational institution with no equivalent anywhere else in the world.
During the Vancouver Games the first official presentation of the University was held on February 25, 2010. By this time its strategic vision had been formed. And on June 7, 2010, during the Official Debrief on the results of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games of 2010, IOC President Jacques Rogge and the Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, placed a time-capsule in the foundations of the University building, containing a message to future generations The University complex will open its doors to students and trainees in 2013. Questions concerning the Russian International Olympic University may be sent by e-mail to info@olympicuniversity.ru.
RIOU is continuing to build international contacts. To this end, at the forum “Russia – Sporting Power” on July 30, 2010 during a meeting between the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and the management of the International Federations, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Russian International Olympic University and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and International Rowing Federation (FISA) was signed. Also, in June 2010 the Russian International Olympic University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). By dint of this document, the University became an official operator of the “Sochi 2014 Excellence” Educational Programme, specially developed by IPC Academy experts for Sochi Games staff so as to maximize effective preparations for delivery of the 2014 Paralympic Games.
By now RIOU has already established relations with a number of leading sports institutes across the world and in Russia – for more information go to RIOU website.
From the foundation and in one year only more than 200 of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee’s employees have undergone training in more than 9 training programmes. On October 10, 2010 the University delivered a workshop for participants in the first European camp А Generation for Peace - youth leaders from 11 countries in Europe and Central Asia. The General Secretary of the International Ice Hockey Federation Horst Lichtner was a special guest.
In December 2010, a University module of training programmes on the theme of the Sochi Games, for regional sports leaders in all of Russia’s federal districts, got underway.
On February 2, 2011, Dmitry Chernyshenko, the President and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, and Lev Belousov, the CEO of RIOU, signed a License Agreement on the transfer of the Olympic Games symbols to the University to be used on the territory of the Russian Federation.
On March 24-25, 2011 RIOU in liaison with the Russian Olympic Committee held a two day workshop for the leaders of the National Olympic Committees and Sports Ministers of CIS countries, Baltic States and East European countries.
On August 1, 2011, RIOU announced on its website launch of a landmark international course on Brand Building and Communications set to become one of the world’s leading Olympic-oriented education programmes for sports managers willing to enhance external communications of the organizations they represent with the target audiences: founders, sponsors, partners, fans, public communities and mass media. The team of renowned guest lecturers will include leading experts from Russia, and widely recognized sports journalist from the western world.
The first issue of a quarterly edition of the popular science magazine “RIOU Vestnik” was published in the end of August. Among the members of the Editorial Board there are also experts from the Organizing Committee. The magazine will promote the Olympic education and be the source of knowledge for those who are keen on sports industry. Besides the publications will be a good aid for educational and scientific projects run by the University.
The Russian International Olympic University has announced the names of the students selected for the annual further professional education program, "Master of Sport Administration", which is going to be a key element of the RIOU's educational structure. The program is aimed at long-term development and will see a new kind of educational environment being formed. The main objective is to prepare a new generation of managers for the Russian and global sports industry, and the Program has been developed by leading international and Russian experts in the field of sports management.
The educational course was first presented to the broader academic and sporting public in July 2012, during the XXX Olympic Summer Games in London, at the Russia.Sochi.Park arena. The program meets Russia's federal educational standards and also satisfies European educational standards. It is intended for graduates of higher education institutions wishing to put their knowledge in the sports sector into effect, and also for sports managers wishing to improve their leadership and sports management skills. The program was licensed by Rosobrnadzor, Russia's Federal Education and Science Supervision Service. The graduates will begin their studies at the RIOU campus in Sochi in September 2013.
The task of maintaining and making effective use of the venues that will form the Olympic legacy will require trained experts with a thorough understanding of innovative management technologies. In this context the MSA program is unique, and it will enable young managers to pick up further professional training that satisfies international standards, in Sochi, whilst also picking up valuable work experience at the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014.
A program of grants to support talented young people wishing to study for a "Master of Sport Administration" is being organized by "The Vladimir Potanin Foundation".