On July 21, 2023, the final session was held for students of the program of additional professional education “Management and Marketing in Sports”, developed by Lomonosov Moscow State University on the initiative of We Compete As One Foundation.
Graduates of the program together with MSU professors and representatives of We Compete As One Foundation held a strategic closing session. To discuss the issues of the development of professional, corporate and mass sports in the current realities, the relationship between sports and personal growth, and what professional and personal qualities a manager needs for successful self-realization in the field of sports management and marketing.
Stanislav Bushev, Vice-Rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University
“Significant changes are taking place in the country and in the world now, and this poses new challenges to the education system, science, and the state. It is necessary that the citizens of our country can quickly adapt to the changes taking place. To this purpose, MSU implements a strategy of lifelong learning. Moscow University offers various additional education programs that allow you to master a variety of qualifications.
In particular, we have prepared special programs that allow athletes to gain new competencies and qualifications. We are pleased to see that people who have achieved significant success in sports have the same attitude towards the educational process. I think this is our first successful experience.”
The first stream of the additional education program “Management and Marketing in Sports” started on April 22, 2023. The first listeners were athletes – wards of We Compete As One Foundation, who plan to realize themselves as a sports manager or marketer after completing their sports career. The program of 100 academic hours was designed in such a way that students could optimally allocate their time between training, training camps and studies. The training took place in full-time and distance format. The classes were conducted by leading professors and teachers of Moscow State University. All students of the program have successfully passed the final attestating and received MSU certificates of advanced training.
Elena Rufova, CEO of We Compete As One Foundation:
“Educational assistance is the most in-demand of all four types of support that the Foundation provides to athletes. More than 80% of the total number of wards applied with this request. Most of them do not plan to leave the field of sports after completing their careers and see themselves as sports managers. We are well aware that active athletes, taking into account their training and performances, need a flexible schedule of classes. This is how the idea of developing a special course for our wards was born, which, as we see from the results, was successfully implemented by the Faculty of Global Processes at Moscow State University. Today we can say that we did it.”
Vladimir Maslov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky, Member of the Board of the International Management Association (Vienna), Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of the UNESCO Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University:
“The necessity of the course is due to the fact that we live in conditions of constant and unpredictable changes in the world. This applies to society, economics, politics, and sports. A new managerial ideology is necessary for the success of a modern leader. Today, it plays a decisive role in the success of a leader in any field of activity. Other conditions are the rejection of the traditional and the transition to leadership management, motivation and stimulation of their employees, and delegation of authority. All these issues are discussed in detail in the course, which provides both theoretical substantiations of the listed principles of successful management, as well as specific examples from domestic and foreign practice.”
Dmitry Shulga, Master of Sports, member of the Russian Paralympic alpine skiing team
“I wanted to get basic knowledge in management, as I have not taken any management courses yet. I am very pleased with the program. Besides, it was the only format that I could combine with training. The course covers all the topics of management and marketing of organizations as much as possible. A lot of knowledge has been gained, and it is already possible to apply it in practice. It’s good that there is a recording of lectures in case something gets forgotten.”
Kirill Shamshurin, Honored Master of Sports in kayaking and canoeing, World and European champion, multiple winner of national regattas
“Now I am already working as a senior coach of the Russian national rowing and canoeing team under the age of 19, I set out to develop my managerial and organizational qualities in my profession. During the course I learned a lot of new and useful things for my work and I am already actively applying the acquired knowledge and practical skills. It is very important that the classes were held in a very convenient format, there was a lot of personal communication with first-class teachers. Of course, the schedule was not always convenient for me, but it helped that there were recordings of lectures and feedback from teachers if there were questions.”
Ivan Aleshkovsky, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Global Processes at Moscow State University, Director of the Center for Educational Development Strategy at Moscow State University:
“Lomonosov Moscow State University shares the Foundation’s mission and initiatives to support Russian athletes who have been excluded from competition for non-sporting reasons. The requests and needs of athletes were taken into account when developing the program “Management and Marketing in Sports”. I should note that the students proved to be active listeners, and conducted a dialogue with the teachers, which, of course, affected the success of the program. Based on the results of the survey of the first stream, we will analyze the results, make the necessary additions to the program, and be ready for the start of the second stream in September this year. I wish all the listeners of the program further success! Remember that the doors of Moscow University are always open for you.”