Ohio State University students who are interested in sport management careers have the opportunity to learn on an international scale.
THE European sport model The program, offered by the College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE), takes students to a seminar across Europe. The program is designed to present to students the European management, marketing and sports law model in order to provide them with a global perspective on industry, said Brian Turner, professor of management of the sports and kinesiology management program, who created the course.
“This was our first study program abroad in the majority of the sport industry, which is the largest adult in the College of Human Education and Ecology,” he said. “We have about 700 students. He grew up a lot. This (spring) was our fifth trip, and it is designed to expose students to other cultures, especially with regard to sport. ”
The program attracts students to different majors from all over the university, said Erik Porfeli, president of the Department of Human Sciences.
“Studies abroad like this offer students a truly unique opportunity to connect with each other and so that students connect with the teachers. You live and learn together for a long time, “he said.
“For many students, (it is) a powerful experience that goes beyond the class of interpersonal nature of peer relationships.”
Since 2018, the European sports model program has taken students to Athens, Rome, Paris and other cities with large sports franchises and important stories in the industry. This year, students studied in Munich, Prague and Berlin from May 9 to 19.
Among the sites that the students visited, the Berlin Olympiastadion, where the legend of the track of Ohio State Buckeye, Jesse Owens, made history during the 1936 Olympic Games by winning four gold medals. The students visited the stadium area which is dedicated to Owens and its achievements.
“It was a rehearsal of our first trip in 2018,” said Turner, “and I wanted Jesse Owens to have linked to our trip.”
Ehe year, EHE works with the International Affairs Office to publicize the program. Students also encourage peers to get involved according to their experiences.
Word of mouth is the way in which Laney Simons, a major in science of third year exercise, discovered the European sport model. She said that she had decided to participate in the program because she presented opportunities to explore her career path in sports physiotherapy.
“I found it on the Ohio State World Education website,” she said, adding that she applied after learning that a classmate had great experience with the program.
Cameron Thompson, a third -year sports industry and a major in finance, said that the program offered him the opportunity to study abroad that he was looking for without engaging in a whole semester. He said that the deadline was ideal, in May after the end of the academic year and before the start of the summer courses.
“It was honestly the perfect program for me,” said Thompson.
One of the highlights of the trip was to attend a basketball match and see the differences in European and American games, said Simons.
“We visited the Basketball stadium in Bayern Munich,” she said. “We were able to speak to the CEO of the Bayern basketball team, and he was really gifted to explain the differences in the way European sports are organized, compared to American sports.”
Thompson said he liked to attend football matches where participants showed an enthusiastic team spirit equivalent to Buckeyes fans.
“The European football match is not like anything before,” he said. “It’s completely different from any American sport. So it was super fascinating to see – passion among fans bases.”
Thompson said he also liked to learn how European sports teams develop talents.
“They will start to have children in their system from the age of 9, 10. They continue to grow, improve. When they are 17, 18, they are ready to go to the major club,” he said. “And in America, this is not really that our professional sport works. Usually you go through high school, then you go to university, then you go to a professional sports league. ”
Simons and Thompson said that learning the history and culture of each city they have visited was an education itself.
“We had a very good variety of activities, so we had a lot of very informative conferences,” said Simons. “But we also had a lot of free time and made bicycle visits and walking visits that allowed us to see the cities in which we stayed for a few days.”
Visiting historic sites was deep, said Thompson.
“In Berlin, we visited a concentration camp. And although it was definitely a dark experience, it was also super revealing and informative,” he said. “It was not just a sports trip, it was also a story trip.”
The European program of the sports program was as much a liaison experience as an educational course for students, said Thompson.
“I think many of them will be friends that I keep here in Ohio State, so it’s really cool, to get closer to some of my classmates. It took Germany to get closer to them,” he said. “I think it’s really great that we have all been able to live it together.”