Kharisma, an MSc Sport Management graduate, is now a Strategic Development Manager working at the highest level of Indonesia’s football league.

“I have a dream in contributing toward the professionalization of sport industry in my country” and, following his studies at BU, he is now beginning to realise this dream. He explains “I have always been attracted to how professional sport leagues in Europe and USA are managed. Nowadays, we find cases on how the brands are transformed, fans experience improved, and integrating technology in distributing sport entertainment content closer to its unique audience. I personally believed, by equipping my personal competencies with proper knowledge and skills in sport management, I could provide value toward Indonesia’s sport industry to adopt best practices from global renowned sport entertainment entities and be a part of the sport industry transformation toward a self-sustaining industry.”

Kharisma continues “I chose BU because I liked its approach and philosophy in delivering the post-graduate programme to the students. I took the post-graduate course after I worked professionally as a Management Consultant and Consumers Researcher for nearly 4 years. Having work experience made me realize the importance of the industry relevance of what I study during the classroom sessions and what I could actually deliver to contribute in attaining a company’s goal. Therefore, I searched for a university that could provide proximity toward real industry cases in a field that I feel passionate about, and the field of study happened to be in sport business or sport industry. I found that BU’s Sport Management programme had this value proposition and I particularly found the positioning of Sport Management under the School of Tourism is highly relevant with how sports are consumed in today’s modern society.”

“I found how BU tailored the Sport Management course is very solid. The three subjects in the second semester are especially of high relevance for anyone aspiring to work at sport industry. During my time, we studied: Consuming Sport, Sport Tourism, and Sport Facilities for the second semester. Those three are pretty much the very core of how sport should be managed, although I believed a special subject related to Sport Marketing or Commercialization will be a stronger attraction for those studying the programme” said Kharisma.

“Outside the university life itself, I also found living at Bournemouth is very memorable; the urban design, the attraction scenes, the cultural diversity, the town events are all very enriching experience to me. Not to mention, Bournemouth is relatively close to London using bus or train. So if we want to enjoy a bit of London atmosphere, it is not hard to pursue. One thing that was a bit surprising to me was how relatively expensive the rare opportunity for me of watching a football game in the stadium was in England and how the tickets are almost always sold out. In my home country, it will not cost you more than £10 per game to watch a football game at VIP section in the top league. Comparing to the games in England, it indicated how different the industry maturity is” he mused.

As part of his studies at BU, Kharisma undertook a 30-week placement at Poole Martial Arts Centre, working on a certification project for them.

On returning home to Indonesia, Kharisma quickly began networking professionals from the sports industry. “I pursued opportunities as they presented themselves to me, applying to job opportunities and built contacts with people who are already ‘inside’. When prompted, I tried to engage with ideas on how a sport industry has evolved and the needs for a strategic long-term plan. Since doing consumer research and procuring a business plan were two of my strongest trade, I attempted to build discussions based on the necessities of such business process for sports. Eventually, I connected with the right person at the time. He was the CEO of Liga Indonesia Baru and has a vision of how football industry should be in the future from various aspects. The job offer came not long after that. It took me exactly 1 year to get this opportunity. During the time before employment, I took freelance projects within the range of my specialty of consumer research and business analysis.”

Kharisma believed his time at BU helped him prepare for securing his current role. “I pursued opportunities as they presented themselves to me, applying to job opportunities and built contacts with people who are already ‘inside’. When prompted, I tried to engage with ideas on how a sport industry has evolved and the needs for a strategic long-term plan. Since doing consumer research and procuring a business plan were two of my strongest trade, I attempted to build discussions based on the necessities of such business process for sports. Eventually, I connected with the right person at the time. He was the CEO of Liga Indonesia Baru and has a vision of how football industry should be in the future from various aspects. The job offer came not long after that. It took me exactly 1 year to get this opportunity. During the time before employment, I took freelance projects within the range of my specialty of consumer research and business analysis.”

On reflection, Kharisma says that he hopes more people from Indonesia, even South East Asia countries could enjoy and participate in Sports Management courses, as he has had the advantage of doing. “Sport is a growing industry and will require more professional talent in the future to achieve excellence.”