World-first innovation for sports ethics and integrity
Swansea University has welcomed its first cohort of Erasmus Mundus students on to its MA in Sports Ethics and Integrity (MAiSI), which will equip students for high-level careers in sports administration and governance, with a focus on ethical sports, integrity and compliance.
Twenty one students, from countries including America, Azerbaijan, China, Colombia, India, and Mexico, were welcomed to the College of Engineering at the University’s Bay Campus at a special reception hosted by Professor Gareth Stratton, Head of the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
The innovative MAiSI, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, is a two-year, full-time programme and prepares students to respond to the global crisis in sports integrity, and the programme is a world-first innovation for sports administration and governance.
The programme is a product of an international collaboration with Charles University in Prague; Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany; KU Leuven in Belgium; The University of the Peloponnese in Greece; and The University Pompeu Fabra in Spain.
The programme focuses on global sports governance, e.g. FIFA, IOC; anti-doping and drugs education; privacy and data protection issues; fair play, justice and human rights; youth Olympics, ethics and education; equity, diversity and inclusion (especially age and disability issues); illegal and irregular gambling; match-fixing and sport manipulation; legislation and codes of conduct; equality and anti-discrimination (class, race, ethnicity, religion and gender issues); sustainability and legacy of sports events; child protection and children’s rights; and Olympism, peace, and The Olympic Truce.
Dr Libby Pearson, MAiSI Programme co-ordinator, College of Engineering, said: “We are delighted to welcome our first cohort of Erasmus Mundus students on to the MAiSI programme, with Swansea as the lead institution.”
Professor Mike McNamee, MAiSI Programme Director, College of Engineering, said: “The world of sport is increasingly beset by ethical problems, from corruption and match fixing to child protection, doping and illegal betting. The integrity of sporting bodies and organisations at every level is being brought into question, creating an urgent need to develop a coherent, professional response to these issues.
“Our response at Swansea is to establish sports ethics and integrity as a new, internationally recognised profession within the field of sports administration and governance in both public and private sectors; to develop 100 new postgraduate experts between 2017-21, selected from around the world who will enrich sport federations with their expertise in ethics and integrity and revolutionise the world of sport.
“Graduates will benefit from opportunities to undertake practical placements within the partners’ extensive network of advisory bodies, federations, policy-makers and commercial organisations, as well as from extensive international collaboration and training opportunities.
“This may be one of the few chances to respond effectively and rapidly to the global crisis in sport integrity.”
For further information on the MAiSI visit http://www.maisi-project.eu/.
Images courtesy of the Research Institute for Ethics and Law (RIEL), Swansea University.
For more information on Swansea University visit their directory page on Careers in Sport.