Bhubaneswar: XEBS Ahluwalia Centre of Excellence in Sports Management, Bhubaneswar, the first and only such Indo-French collaboration in the country and a High Performance Centre of the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha, on Monday rolled out its second Certificate Program in Sports Management.
Unveiling the course in a virtual event, Hon’ble Minister for Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha Mr Tusharkanti Behera extended a warm welcome to the students.
“I welcome you to learn and experience sports and its different dimensions through the thriving sports landscape in Odisha, that has over the recent years, emerged to be the Sports Hub of the country and a name to reckon with in the global sports fraternity, for its unique initiatives,” said Mr Behera. He urged the students to gain first-hand experience of Odisha’s robust sports ecosystem.
The Certificate Program will offer a crucial mix of economics of sport, marketing management, IT, data analysis, e-sport, CSR, sponsorship strategies and legal as well as ethics of sports through its seven modules.
Xavier Emlyon Business School (XEBS) is a unique collaboration between two academic leaders from India and France, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar and emlyon business school. For Certificate Program in Sports Management, it has brought in the best of international and Indian faculty and industry experts to make the program engaging and enriching through its teaching, mentoring and webinars spread across seven modules.
The program has received overwhelming response from candidates from all across the country. With 35 students, the batch comprises eminent sportspersons, coaches, entrepreneurs, professionals and sports enthusiasts from all across the country, starting from Nagaland to Tamil Nadu.
International sportspersons such as cricketers Rudra Pratap Singh, Piyush Chawla, hockey player Rashanpreet Kaur, Odisha’s very own shuttler Rutuparna Panda, CEO of Gokulam Kerala FC Dr B Ashok Kumar, Vice President of Table Tennis Federation of India Rabindra Parida, sports and travel writer Rajesh Mishra, noted sports consultant Karthik Yanamadra and former national swimmer and Head Coach at JSW Sports-Swimming HPC Sharath Chandra Bellave, former football coach, Indian National team Indranil Chakraborty, Manager, Tata Steel Adventure Foundation Varun Sharma are among the few names that would form the classroom of XEBS’ Second Certificate Program.
Addressing the occasion, President of Indian Olympic Association and International Hockey Federation and member IOC, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra complimented XEBS Ahluwalia Centre of Excellence in Sports Management for an impressive draw of students for the second batch in the midst of a pandemic year.
Emphasising the importance of Sports Management as an academic program, Dr Batra lauded Odisha Government for promotion of sports and hoped students would get the chance to tap into the wealth of opportunities it would offer in the years to come.
In her speech, Consul General of France in Calcutta, Mrs. Virginie Corteval greeted the students and wished them an engaging learning experience during the program period.
Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, said the different facets of State’s sports sector form a model and have earned wide recognition, set benchmark for others to emulate and will offer apt case studies that will enhance and enrich learnings at this program.
“Some amongst you may have already experienced the sports phenomenon in the State and can share their learnings and add to exchange of ideas amongst peers,” he added.
In his address, Chairman XEBS Ashley Fernandes, the 2nd Certificate Program, keeping with the early maker spirit of emlyon business school, is part of the quest to bring globally recognized academic program in sports management to India in the heart of its new sports hub: Odisha.
He also announced that XEBS Ahluwalia Centre of Excellence in Sports Management has set in motion the launch of its Degree Program in India in 2021 which will offer students an international curriculum & faculty; and it will provide them with learning by doing pedagogy, industry exposure and multi-campus experience.
Speaking about their decision to join the 2nd Certificate Program, international cricketers RP Singh and Piyush Chawla said: “We are excited to have joined the Certificate Program on Sports Management by XEBS Ahluwalia Centre of Excellence in Sports Management. A career in sports has given us understanding of the game. We strongly believe, this course will add to our knowledge of the management side and help contribute to development of sports in India. We are keenly looking forward to learning from the international curriculum modules and faculty members,” the duo said.
Shri Ranjib Biswal said, ‘‘this program will definitely create a new revolution in the world of sports and Odisha govt. has always supported sports. I believe initiatives like this will be of immense help to create a name in international levels. Previously many players & sports personalities have bought laurels to the country. I hope this field of education helps sports enthusiasts in a greater way in the days to come. That’s the main motto of this program.’’
Director, Sports, R Vineel Krishna, Former IPL Chairman Ranjib Biswal, Vice-Chancellor, XUB, Dr. Father Antony R. Uvari, Dean XEBS, Prof Arun Kumar Paul, Program Coordinator and Designer Prof Dr. Michel Desbordes, Full Professor, University of Paris Saclay and emlyon business school expert and Ms Diksha Tiwari, Head of Operations, XEBS Ahluwalia Centre of Excellence in Sports Management were also present.
In October 2019, the Centre had launched the first batch of Certificate Program, exclusively for Odisha candidates. It followed up with SPORT IT, India’s first sports and innovation festival in January 2020 bringing together entrepreneurs from all across the country to a sports start-up village and a one-of-its-kind sports hackathon on the sidelines.
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