UAB and Johan Cruyff Institute set to collaborate on teaching, employability and cooperation.

Conveni entre la UAB i el Johan Cruyff Institute en docència i recerca

In a press conference at UAB Casa Convalescència on 19 November, the UAB and the Johan Cruyff Institute publicly announced an agreement to offer a joint master's degree in sport management, create a research chair and provide support to disabled persons in the context of sport.

20/11/2015

The UAB and the Johan Cruyff Institute have announced an agreement to work together on teaching, research and social programmes. The two institutions have agreed to offer a joint master's degree in sport management, set up a research chair, in collaboration with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, and cooperate on support for disabled persons in sport through the Cruyff Foundation and the UAB's Fundació Autònoma Solidaria. The agreement was announced on 19 November in a press conference at UAB Casa Convalescència.

This agreement is the starting point for the two institutions to begin work on deploying a wide range of future teaching and research activities, which are so necessary in the constantly expanding sports sector.

Training up top-class professionals

- Under the new agreement the UAB and the Johan Cruyff Institute will jointly deliver a master's degree in sport management. This is a programme that up to now belonged to the Johan Cruyff Institute and will now become a university master's degree comprising 60 ECTS credits linked to the Faculty of Business and Economics at the UAB. The teaching, in English and Spanish, will take place through a combination of classroom-based and online distance learning. Courses are expected to begin in the 2016-2017 academic year.

This master's programme seeks to train up professionals who can use the tools of sport management to spot business opportunities, optimise resources and analyse information for decision-making, among other skills. Particular emphasis will be placed on incorporating the principles of equality between men and women, equality of opportunities, non-discrimination and universal accessibility.

The master's degree is aimed mainly at graduates in physical activity and sport science, business management and administration, economics, marketing, tourism, and communication. Career options on completing the programme are expected to include business management in the sports sector, management of sports clubs, management of events and sports facilities, marketing and sponsorship management, and business startups.

Another initiative is to set up a joint MOOC (massive open online course) on sport sponsorship, using the world-leading Coursera platform, which has picked the UAB to be the first university in Spain to deliver its courses.

Joining the labour market after a career in sport

In addition, the UAB and the Johan Cruyff Institute, in collaboration with Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, plan to set up a research chair to look into ways to help sportspersons to find a place in society once their sports career is over.

This will involve studying suitable educational systems and subsequent employment opportunities.

Helping the disabled to practise sports

Under the agreement, the UAB's Fundació Autònoma Solidaria (FAS) and the Cruyff Foundation are to collaborate on initiatives to help those with disabilities to join in sports activities.

This collaboration is made possible by the similarities between the two institutions. The Cruyff Foundation develops projects for disabled children, among others, while the FAS runs the PIUNE programme, aimed at promoting equality of opportunities for studying. It offers special-purpose vehicles and works to adapt teaching activities, syllabuses, buildings and campus layout, and social activities to the needs of the disabled.