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![]() Visiting the Aspire Academy after 13 years. This was the time and the place when the QNV 2030 Sports Project started. I have presented many times about my time in Doha at conferences and universities. Being finally back in Doha feels almost like coming home. Athletics was probably the first successful sports program of the Aspire Academy, winning a silver medal at World Youth Championships U18 in 2009 and a Gold Medal at the World Junior Championships U20 in 2020. It was interesting to follow some careers of students from the first 3 batched over the past decade. Among those are Ahamd Jaad who became a coach himself, Mutaz Barshim became a multiple World- and Olympicmedalwinner, Mohamad Saleh Adam a lawyer, and Omar Shamiyeh a successful entrepreneur. Credits go to the staff of the Aspire Academy "start-up" of these days: Carlos Alberto Cavalheiro, GeraldLenting Andres Charadia, Dr. Adam Beard, Greg Bopf, Uwe Hakus, Matthew Robinson, Gregoire Millet, François Fourchet and many more ... 4/10/2022 Case studies: SoccerToday I start the course "Soccer Markets: Case Studies". In the course we look at selected case studies on the topic of soccer markets. This will be clubs, federations or events.
A central case this year will certainly be the FIFA World Cup in Qatar one of the most discussed sporting events ever. We will have a critical look from a strategic and business perspective as well as from a ethical point of view. Does Qatar's sports and diversification strategy pay back or has it maybe done more harm to the reputation of the country? A number of scientific research papers which have been published over the past decade will serve among media reports as a good basis for the discussions in the seminar. But we will also expect live interview guests with regards to the topic, who give us insight information about the development of the sports market in Qatar and the Middle East. Another topic will be the business case of developing woman's football. While most experts are looking in ever growing soccer market of China, many oversee opportunities in other asian countries. In a workshop format we will analyze markets, their stakeholders and special requirements when it come to develop woman sports in general and soccer in particular. This course will be also available on my online academy www-ralfiwan.academy 12/9/2022 Business of Sports WebinarTeaching about sports management and sports marketing for students in mature sports markets like Europe or the USA must have a different approach, than teaching and mentoring coaches in emerging countries like Zimbabwe. I had the pleasure to meet a group of coaches and athletes from Zimbabwe yesterday in a 2hr webinar, where we talked about sports marketing, business models in sports, and their very own business ideas. As a special guest I could welcome my student ELIJAH MENSAH, Ghana born, Italian raised, who shared his business model beeing a personal fitness trainer. We will have the next webinar coming weekend. The course is supported by a short online course as well, with some additional material, videos, and case studies. I appreciate, that I gained some new insights in the discussions as well about the sports market in Zimbabwe. 6/9/2022 HYROX Season 22/23I have already dealt with this topic in the last course with my students: Fitness, is the fastest growing "sport" in the world. despite the COVID pandemic. The demand for fitness is not only for gyms, fitness studios, CrossFit boxes, micro,- or yoga studios. Fitness competitions are becoming more and more popular. Although there has been a slight dip in participation rates due to COVID in 2020 and 2021; most competition formats have come out of the crisis in good shape. Whether Crossfit Games, Spatan Race, Mudder Games or other OCRs.
One competition format that has established itself in recent years - not only in Germany but throughout Europe - is HYROX. The target group are the millions of worldwide athletes who call Functional Fitness their sport. Up to now, there have hardly been any comparable, measurable fitness events for everyone. HYROX, that is the ultimate challenge: A perfect combination of strength, endurance and speed, for all performance and age groups! I have been following the event since 2019, when I listened to a podcast with one of the founders of the fitness series, Moritz Fürste, Germany's most successful hockey player. Fürste was able to explain the motivation and concept of the event in the sports business talk and convinced me not only from a business point of view. Since I have a background in athletics - both as an athlete and coach - I fully understand the concept of 8x 1km running in combination with 8 workouts. Inspired by the talk and the concept, I started training with the goal of completing a HYROX competition myself in April 2020. Due to Corona, of course, that didn't happen for a while, but in September and November 2021 competition was calling: I started in Leipzig and Berlin! Having an idea and a concept is certainly one thing, but to successfully put such a concept into practice a completely different one! HYROX or better, the company UpsolutSports GmbH from Hamburg, which is behind the concept, has succeeded greatly! It was a great experience and I had the opportunity - besides the races - to chat to some other athletes and officials. Great success for the event - at least the two events I competed in. This winter 2022/23 HYROX starts into its 4th season. The DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) countries are the core of the event calendar, so are Spain, Netherlands and the UK. Even in the USA, the largest fitness market in the world, there have already been a number of successful events. Chicago, Dallas, New York or Las Vegas. All first-class organized events, which find more and more enthusiasts. I will also also participating again this season and have booked my tickets for two events initially. More to come maybe in 2023. In addition to the sporting side, HYROX remains a very interesting research object as a business case in the field of fitness events. 4/9/2022 Winter-Semester Kick-OffThe winter semester starts with a course at the ALBA College on Leadership in Sport.. The ALBA College is a cooperation between the most successful German basketball club ALBA Berlin and the University of Europe for applied sciences.
In the course we will look at the organizational structure of sports organizations in general as well as organizations in professional sports. What are the requirements and challenges for managers and executives in the sports industry? What challenges will sport face in the future and what are the tasks of managers and executives in particular in an often fast-moving and hectic industry? In addition, we will deal with very general techniques and concepts of employee management. 18/7/2022 Lectures by the Lake'22: ReviewIt was a great three days at the lake with presentations, visits to regional agencies, online guests, culture, sports and lots of fun, personal discussions and conversations. This year's Lectures by the Lake seminar at Berzdorfer See was very well received by all participants. After arrival by train from Berlin, cycling to Poland for lunch. The first online guest in the program in the afternoon was Oliver von Quast, CEO of Direct Charge GmbH. Oliver explained the students the business concept of his company, a Berlin start-up in the field of e-mobility. During the lecture, Oliver was able to explain questions of the students both in the seminar room and online and thus contributed to a better understanding of the field of renewable energies and e-mobility in Germany. Then it was out of the seminar room and onto the water. Stand-up paddle and kayak were the activities, which were a lot of fun for everyone. After such an active day, everyone was hungry of course. The barbecue came just right and was great to finish the day. The second day consisted of a visit to the regional development agency ENO and a lot of culture. ENO, the agency responsible for the economic and structural development of the district, gave the students a very detailed insight into the current situation, the challenges but also the opportunities that this region offers young people and companies. The afternoon was entirely dedicated to culture. After lunch in a historic restaurant, the program continued with culture and history. A guided tour through the historic city of Görlitz impressed all students. The barbecue in the evening was then a “co-production” of all students. The third day started after breakfast (which all students prepared again together) with a round of talks and individual meetings on the topics of the course, the master's theses and assignments, before we went to the beach: Beach Volleyball & Beach Soccer! All in all a great event, which was unfortunately much too short. Thanks to all participants for the effort and the help here and there: Great teamwork! Everyone is looking forward to the next event.... #development #opportunities #event #students #teamwork #lecturesbythelake #seminars #fun #insights #sports #management #leadership #sustainability #communication #standuppaddle #watersports #canoeing #beachvolleyball #beachsoccer Credits to SHASHIKANT JADHAV for the great pics, Menglin DAI for all the filming, Tarik for giving me Arabic lessons, and Uurmi for sharing the barbecue recipe, Ten for sharing insights to his business model, and Tanmay for the great assist during beach volleyball (btw I'm also a rookie in this sports :-) 25/3/2022 Start of the Summer Semester 2022The global political situation has changed completely since February 24, 2022 - to a significant extent, of course, in Europe. Many people did not think it possible that there would be another war of this magnitude in Europe. Neither did I. The war in Ukraine has also had an impact on the sports industry. From Chelsea, to Formula 1, from sporting events and the exclusion of Russian athletes and teams from leagues and sporting events. How the sanctions against Russia will impact other areas of the sports and fitness industry in the coming months remains to be seen.
In March, my summer semester starts with a whole series of interesting courses. The Football Industry course will focus on the industry's stakeholders, their business models and projects in the national and international soccer business. The digitalization but especially the corona crisis of the past. 2years has changed the soccer business globally. We take a look at the stakeholders and their new or adapted business models and venture an outlook on what could lie ahead for the industry. In the international course of Managing Fitness & Recreationnal Markets we will start with an introduction to the topic of fitness and health and we will also look at the health challenges of societies and which business models can arise from this. Finally, we will devote quality management in fitness & health to the service idea and process management. Not only talking about fitness, but also becoming active ourselves. That's why I'll be back in action at the Hyrox Event Frankfurt at the end of April. The Hyrox Event, which calls itself a fitness event for all, is an excellent combination of functional training and endurance. I would like to give a small preview of the summer of 2022, when the "Lectures by the Lake" will take place in Görlitz at Lake Bertzdorf, a compact seminar in an inspiring environment directly at the lake. The topic this summer is Leadership with as focus on sustainability, social performance and change management. I wish everyone a good start to the week and a safe place to be With best regards and wishes Ralf Iwan 3/11/2021 Introduction to SportmanagementFootball is one of the most popular sports in the world. One of the reasons football is so popular is because it only requires a ball and a flat open area to play.
In this year's course "football sport" we approach the sportmanagement and the management of football entities from the sporting aspect first. What are the sporting requirements to become a good - maybe even professional - football player? We look into the talent identification processes of football academies from major clubs such as Manchester United or Bayern Munich and speak to youth and junior coaches of major clubs. We then have a look at the club and federation structures of major football markets in Europe, like Germany, England, Spain, Italy and France. A closer look at the business model allows us to differentiate and cluster some clubs. Finally we look at the major events in football and the FIFA World Cup as well as the UEFA Champions League. At the end of the course we will have a guest-lecturer from one major German football club. 1/10/2021 New Course: MBA LeadershipThis month I will start the Executive Master's course on Leadership at the University of Europe for applied sciences. The course comprises around 80 course units and the topics of strategic management, quality management, sustainable management, ethics in management and the topic of sustainability and social performance.
With students from six different countries, the focus is not only on theory but also on practical examples and case studies from different industries. I hope that we can hold the course on campus again and look forward to a lively participation. Other topics of the course:
Ich freue mich bereits wieder auf das Wintersemester 2020/21.
Den Start machen auch in diesem Jahr zwei Kurse am ALBA College, mit Dualen Studierenden, zu den Themen Sponsoring und Leadership in Practice. Mit internationalen Studierenden der International School of Management (ISM) geht es im September um die Einführung in das internationale Management und das Management von internationalen Sportorganisationen. Neben Grundlagen der Strukturen des internationalen Sports und seinen Stakeholdern, werden wir auch einen Rückblick auf die beiden großen internationalen Sportevents des Jahres, die Olympischen Spiele in Tokyo und die UEFA Fußball Europameisterschaft werfen und so Theorie und Praxis verbinden. Insbesondere die Themen Governance, Vermarktung und Digitalisierung werden uns hier beschäftigen. Zum Thema Digitale Transformation im Sport werde ich auch in diesem Wintersemester wieder einen Kurs mit Studierenden des International Sports & Eventmanagement Kurses der University of Europe in Berlin geben, auf den ich mich schon sehr freue. Hier werden wir uns die Chancen aber auch möglichen Risiken der digitalen Transformation aus Sicht von Athleten, Vereinen, Verbänden und Sportevents genauer anschauen und diese an Fallbeispielen verdeutlichen. Der Kurs im Seminar-format bietet Studierenden die Möglichkeit sich selbst in kleinen Gruppen mit bestimmten Aspekten der Thematik auseinanderzusetzen und so den Austausch von Ideen und Erfahrungen zu fördern. |
AutorRalf Iwan MBA Archiv
July 2023
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1/12/2022