With Delhi set to host the Commonwealth games in 2010, the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong (RGIIM-S) is leaving no stone unturned to explore the fast-growing sports management sector. The institute is planning to launch a six month certificate course in sports management in October 2009.
The course, part of the Accelerated Learning Centre (ALC) in RGIIM-S will focus on providing information in the areas of sports event management, sports marketing and sponsorship sales where case study teaching approach will be employed. For the first batch, the institute has restricted the intake to 30 seats where the minimum academic qualification for applicants is graduation. The programme is non-residential, part time and will be held three days in a week.
“As witnessed during the IPL in India and the upcoming Commonwealth games, accountability, meeting deadlines, marketing, managing franchises, sponsorships and sustaining revenues are integral part of sports for which qualified personnel are much in demand. IIM Shillong’s course is designed to equip students with basis concepts and practices to tap into the opportunities offered by the sports management market,” said Anoop Abraham, the chairperson for the programme.
The ALC has been set up by the institute to train talented educated youth of North East and other parts of the country for imparting them with practical skills and also to motivate them to participate in the globalised economy. To bring it under the reach of many, the fee has been kept at a minimal cost of Rs 10,000.
The six month course is one of many initiatives taken up by the institute to explore the field of sports management. In its two year Post Graduate Programme (PGP), the institute offers an elective in sports management.
As part of this course, students of RGIIM-S and the International Sports Tourism Research co-Laboratory (i-Team) of Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA have jointly proposed a research project on the Commonwealth Games to be hosted in New Delhi in 2010. The objective of the project is to expand know-how on professional management in sports through field and case studies as well as allied research in India.