Very positive first day at the PhD Seminar at #EASM2018!

It was great having Sport Management students from around the world sharing their knowledge, and learning from each other’s experiences. Team #SPLISS made a debut at the PhD Seminar with 5 PhD students from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Interesting lectures and very constructive feedback from the professors which contributed to a successful first day!

During the parallel sessions we had a good balance between theoretical and practical discussions. It was very motivating to learn from the fellow PhD students who are also undertaking PhD projects and get to know how they deal with their research challenges. I’m sure that we will take with us many positive lessons from these intense two days, and of course, we will leave #EASM with many new friends and maybe future collaborators.

Looking forward to tomorrow and happy to be part of the #SportManagementClub.

Would you like to know how it looks to participate in the Student Seminar?

Pamela Michel from the University of Bern is showing you her experiences through a camera.

by Vitaly and Daryousch

What a great way to start a conference!

Exciting start to the conference! It has been a busy first day. Visiting Malmö FF to hear about their community projects, education campaign against racism followed by lectures about inclusion activities in Swedish sports and race in sports offered a good platform for settling into to the topic of the conference. We listened to a presentation about the Malmö FF’s education campaign (the campaign against racism). It was very interesting to get introduced to the methods and the idea of the club campaign. This sure will be helpful for the group work and it’s a good insight and practical experience we will take with us for today. Furthermore we visited the club museum and got on the pitch. As passionate football fans this field trip was definitely the highlight of the day. We learned about the way a club can promote education and children’s rights and get knowledge about a successful traditional Swedish football club.

There are a lot of expressions from the day. Meeting a lot of new people is fun and challenging since we are so many (looking forward to continuing meetings and getting to know the participants in the next days). The lecture of race and whiteness in sport was very interesting. Obviously, a topic of racism is a sensitive one. The reason this sticks out is because the lecture made us think how people relate to others is unconsciously affected by past experiences, beliefs and stereotypes that we are exposed to in a society.

What we will take away is the knowledge that it is impossible to not take a stand to this topic. Hiding or being blind to the topic means we do not acknowledge the challenges and the negative outcomes that unfortunately exists. At the same time, it is a double bind. Being aware of it and categorizing thoughts and stereotypes about races reinforces the differentiation we are trying to disrupt. It seems to be a paradox that is impossible to escape!

by Mart and Daryousch 

Today we arrived in Malmö. Although we arrived a little bit late with my student colleagues from cologne we had a warm and nice welcome from the board and had a drink together. The people were very nice and offered help. It began with an introduction of participants and tutors. People took their chance to meet the team members for the week and the ice was broken. We finished the day by drinking a beer in the city.

The highlight of the day was the social part in the evening. We got more in contact with the other students and participants and talked to many of them. From this point on, we knew 100% that this week will be great!

Hi! Hej! Hallo! Privet!

My name is Maria, I am a 4th-year Bachelor Student studying Sport Management from Moscow, Russia.

I’ve always been fascinated by sports. At first, as an athlete, then, after an injury, as a spectator. That’s why I decided to study Sport Management. During my studies I also discovered the importance of volunteering. It was only developing in Russia at that time. Until now I have been volunteering for about 6 years, worked at about 50 sporting events: local, national and international. The biggest ones were FIFA World Cup 2018, Confederations Cup 2017, XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, IAAF World Championships 2013. I have gained experiences at almost all functions: managing athletes’ requests in team services, dealing with VIPs in protocol, writing press releases in media services, assisting guests in spectators’ services and more. Meanwhile, I work as a Business Assistant to a Managing Partner in a consulting company, Ward Howell, that is specializing in Executive Search and Leadership Development.

Something that I reflected on about EASM and the EASM Conference and the Seminars is the theme. While I find that e.g. children’s integration in sport is not a common issue in Russia, facility problems were and still are a much bigger problem as well as lack of professional staff. Sport is becoming more globalized, and almost every person has sport in their life.

Hello,

My name is Mart Faber. I am 20 years old and I live in the city of Groningen. During my time in high school I realized that sport is what attracts me the most. For example, during the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa, I had to acknowledge that sport really changes me. We (the Netherlands) almost won the World Cup, but it slipped through our hands in the final against Spain…. However, I was stunned to see how our nation got together, sort of like a family as we supported our Dutch team throughout the World Cup.

I will start the graduation year of my study this fall. ’Sportkunde’ as it is called in Dutch, which means something like ‘sport science’ is a study where sports is viewed from the management and health perspective. After my internship at a local government organization my interest grew in reviewing sports clubs in the light of changes in the society like individualisation and social segregation. After researching this topic it became clear that sport and policy was the path I had to follow during my graduation year. Some other focusses at my studies are lifestyle coaching and entrepreneurship within sport.

During my minor I received an invitation to join the EASM Student Seminar in Malmö. It was written by the lecturer/researcher Ingmar de Vries. Together with a friend, we decided to dive into this great adventure and to take the opportunity to meet sport students from all over the world. We thought it was time to bring new insights into the sport management game in ‘real life’.

I expect to meet a lot of new people who got a vision on the role of sports in our societies. It might be great to see where similarities can strengthen each other but also the differences in how societies integrate sport throughout the world.

Hi,

My name is Vitaly Berg and I am one of the students from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences who will participate in the Student Seminar at the EASM Conference 2018. Currently, I am writing my Master thesis on the topic of crisis management within sport organizations, while I organize weekly social events outside the school environment that focuses on language exchange and multiculturalism. In other words, I pretend to be a scientist during the day, and a person who connects people in the evening. Previously I was involved with a volunteer program in Zambia through the national sports organization while studying subjects within the field of sports development, focusing on inclusive sports in schools and local sport clubs.

How I got involved in the seminar is through the department of social studies, which gave us the possibility to join the conference. Having visited an international conference in the past, attending this conference is a unique opportunity to learn from experts in various subjects within the Sport Management field. Working in teams also provides a possibility to practice working in groups on the current challenges within sport management, as well as creating contacts with fellow students and future colleagues. For me, that is a great opportunity, particularly because several challenges regarding integration and inclusion in Europe happens across borders, and international cooperation needs to find sufficient solutions. I look forward to nine exciting days!

Hello,

My name is Daryousch Argomand, I am 25 years old and I am from Cologne. I am studying Sport Management and Sport Communication at the German Sport University of Cologne. I am a very communicative person who loves sport, theoretical and practical. Furthermore, I like to travel and learn about other countries and cultures. In my spare time, I do a lot with my friends.

For me it is important to know many different people and in my opinion, it is helpful and exciting to have many contacts and a network of different friends.

I heard about EASM the first time at a seminar and due to my membership in the alumni association of my university. Dr. Stefan Walzel is a lecturer at the German Sport University and EASM’s Secretary General. When he told us about the chance to participate in the EASM Seminar and the EASM Conference I could not wait to write my application.

I think the week in Malmö is a perfect chance for me to get to know other people, who have similar interests and attitudes. Hopefully, I get the chance to make friends. I also want to use the possibility to learn more about the field of Sport Management. I want to learn about news, new methods and trends within the field. I think the participation is very helpful for my personal development as well as for my career.

Last but not least I just want to have fun. During the spare time at the EASM Conference, I will use my chance to see Malmö and to spend time with new friends. I am looking forward to an exciting week, informative seminars and a fascinating Conference. I am thankful to share my thoughts and my experiences and hope you will enjoy following my experiences on this blog.

My name is Jacqueline Patatas, originally from Brazil, but currently living in Belgium to conduct my PhD at Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s Faculty of Physical Education. My field of study is quite unique, as I am one of the few scholars doing research in sport management applied to the Paralympic Sport context. The specific focus of my PhD is on identifying the influence of sport policy factors in the development of Paralympic athletes’ pathways. I am also one of the researchers engaged on the development of the Para-SPLISS project, which is supported by the SPLISS consortium, and aims to develop a global understanding surrounding the factors optimising the successful development of Paralympic athletes, both at the national elite sport system as well as at a sport-specific level.

Making my debut at EASM will be an exciting experience by bringing Paralympic sports to the discussion in sport management. As being passionate about Paralympic sport, I am pleased to encounter sport management experts, since disability sports policy development may transcend to higher levels from their helpful insights.  I am also pleased to be part of the organisation of the Workshop on Disability Sports, which will provide a unique networking opportunity between scholars and students with an interest in the field of disability sport studies. In addition, the best way possible to kick off this experience will be participating in the PhD Student Seminar, which I am confident that it will help me to boost my research skills, and at the same time, will give me the opportunity to present my work and receive feedback from both, novel and respected researchers in the field. Last but not least, it will be an enjoyable way to exchange experience with other PhD students from around the world.

Looking forward to EASM 2018, see all of you in Malmo and a safe trip to all participants!

My name is Josef Nilsson, 24 years old from Norrkoping, Sweden. Currently I am studying Sport Management at the bachelor’s degree level at Malmo University, Sweden.

Why I got into Sport Management? Well, as a former ice hockey goalkeeper, my career came to an end due to numerous concussions. I wanted to work in the sports environment and develop skills and knowledge that could be useful for my work career. Thus, Sport Management became an easy choice for me to start studying after my player career.

Thanks to great work in school and establishing great relationships, I got the opportunity to be part of the Student Seminars at the European Sport Management Conference. I’m really looking forward to meeting all of the other sport management students, listen to their stories and make some new friends in the field of sport management.

I am looking forward to see everyone at the conference. And for those who are not participating at the Student and Phd Seminar nor speaking at the conference, try to enjoy the conference as a spectator. There are very interesting people with good thoughts and knowledge. So, if you are in Malmö, Sweden through 5^th-8^thSeptember, please make it to Malmo Live and the Sport Management Conference.