ANOC praise Russian International Olympic University MSA course as third batch of students are inducted

The third intake of students on the MSA course at RIOU have been inducted ©RIOU

The third intake of students have been inducted onto the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) Master of Sport Administration programme, with praise for the initiative coming from Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) secretary general Gunilla Lindberg.

The scheme aims to teach students, the majority of whom come from within National Olympic Committees, various skills in order to give them the best possible chance of securing a job in the field of managing sports organisations as well as events and venues.

Several successful athletes will take part in the MSA this year, including Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games snowboarding silver medallist Nikolai Olyunin and Christina Smith, the first Canadian female bobsleigh pilot to compete at the Olympic Games.

ANOC themselves have put three students forward for inclusion on the programme, from the Dominican Republic, Barbados and Lebanon.

The latest batch of participants on the course come from 17 different countries and 21 areas of Russia, with the programme, which takes place in Sochi, beginning today and running through to June 2016.

Three formats of the MSA course will be held, one in Russian, one in English and a long-distance learning version, and Lindberg, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, hailed the scheme as “a unique experience” for the students.

This year's MSA course runs until June 2016 and features three students put forward by ANOC ©RIOU

“The Russian International Olympic University’s MSA course is a unique experience for students: a one-year immersion in Olympic culture and best-practice, in an Olympic city, with access to expert professors from all over the world,” she said.

“The skills ANOC’s students learn in Sochi will not only be good for the individual’s career but will also contribute to the development of sport within the NOC community at large.

“That’s why, at ANOC, we’re delighted to be sending three more students to Sochi for another year of Olympic education.”

The course itself is split into three semesters, comprising of five main topic areas, with classes being taught by experts in sports management, as well as professors from acclaimed universities and Olympic Studies Centres.