SMU moves to fill future need for sports-related courses

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http://www.todayonline.com/sports/smu-moves-fill-future-need-sports-related-courses?singlepage=true

The rapid growth of the sports industry in Singapore has prompted the Singapore Management University to open up pathways for those who may be interested in a career in the field.

For starters, yesterday, the Singapore Management University (SMU) penned a five-year agreement with the University of Oregon (UO) in the United States.

This was for an international student-exchange programme to enable students from both institutions to learn from the academic and sporting cultures of the two countries.

It will also look to offer more sports-related courses in future.

The recent opening of the Singapore Sports Hub is expected to speed up the development of the sports industry in Singapore, which the government has estimated to be worth S$2 billion by next year. The Sports Hub, which is open to the public this weekend, is also expected to open up 20,000 jobs.

With UO’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Centre offering specialised courses in sports management and marketing, SMU exchange students will have the opportunity to study the best practices of the mature sports business market in the US, with possibilities of internships with renowned sports organisations such as Nike and ESPN.

Applications for the student-exchange programme open next February, with two students from SMU and OU heading to each other’s campuses for an academic year starting in August.

Currently, Nanyang Technological University is the only local varsity to offer a sports-related degree programme — Sports Science and Management.

Next month, SIM University will take in its first batch of 30 students for its Bachelor of Sports and Physical Education programme, which is more than four times oversubscribed.