For the third year running, Sport & Physical Activity students participated in the international student seminar of the European Association for Sport Management, held just before the large annual academic conference. After students actively participating in Istanbul and Coventry, it was Christian Fizia (Sports Development and Coaching Science) creating an impact in September in Dublin – for example, he continued the streak of BU students to finish in the top 3 of the management game with their international teams, which allowed him to present in front of a larger audience during the main conference as well.

“While our sport students are enthusiastic to go abroad during their placement year or as part of our high quality study abroad programme, it is important that we leave a mark at leading international conferences and also offer extra-curricula opportunities for international experiences. Christian did show great passion and dedication for the case all groups where presented with and he worked professionally with his intercultural team members. These are only some of the learning experiences which he will add to his employability and which he will explicitly and implicitly share with fellow students in his final year, too” says Dr Tim Breitbarth, Principal Academic Sport Management and Coordinator Internationalisation.

 Here is Christian’s brief report:

“The student management game, which took place before the conference, contained approximately 50 students from 8 countries assembled in small teams. Our task addressed the internationalisation of a national sporting federation (Gaelic Athletic Association) in a digital age; this allowed me to use knowledge from my course and my internship at a sports market intelligence company. I gained valuable presenting experience with my work, firstly addressing the students and judges (7 tutors) and then after progressing to the final presenting at the conference itself to a room of students and academics numbering roughly 70 to 100. The trip enforced my keen interest in sponsorship and provided me with a new network which could be utilised in future employment.

Culturally I was able to learn about the history of Gaelic sport and how it plays such a pivotal role for Irish people and their national pride. The tribal nature of the sports and amateurism generate a unique community feeling as players can only play for the county they’re born in. I was able to play a little bit of Gaelic Football, Hurling and Handball and will be looking to join a Gaelic Football club in England in the near future to try and play the sport competitively.

At the large international academic conference, the experience I gained was phenomenal and I was able to attend several presentations from some of the leading academics and professors in the sports field who were presenting their most up to date research. The topics spanned across the majority of sports management and sports development issues, below is a list of just some that I chose to attend and which inspired my thinking:

–          Fan Engagement (Basketball – USA/Germany & Football – Austria)

–          Marketing Communication (Alcohol brands strategies – France)

–          Economic Value (Skiing World Cup – Norway & Football transfer market – Eastern Europe)

–          Online Fan Engagement (Twitter – Tour De France & Football – Dutch team at Brazil 2014)

–          Corporate Social Responsibility (Football – Denmark, Basketball – Europe and Belgium sport)

 Within the sport department, the application process for the EASM conference was straight forward and it only required a short expression of interest form and short interview with Dr Breitbarth. Global Horizon Funding was offered by BU and provided a great incentive to apply. It was useful to maintain communication with the conference organisers and the university in order to ensure I knew what to expect from the trip.”