As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the Zagreb School of Economics and Management (ZSEM), the oldest business school in all of Croatia, leads the Olympic committees of four countries and two elite European universities in creating an educational programme for professionals, which will enable them to follow new business careers after finishing with the sporting world.
In addition to ZSEM, the consortium consists of the Olympic Committees of Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Institute of Sports in Slovenia and two elite universities – the Stockholm School of Economics from Sweden whose professors participate in selecting Nobel Prize winners and the German WHU – the Otto Beisheim School of Management & Euromasters, whose master’s programme in management was ranked among the top three in the entire world by the prestigious Financial Times (FT) magazine.
As stated, the MLEA (Micro Learning Entrepreneurship for Athletes) project will develop specialised, “tailor made” programmes to enable current and former athletes in the region to acquire the necessary business knowledge and skills to facilitate their often difficult and confusing transition from the sporting world to business and entrepreneurial careers. The project will also include elements of gamification and the employment of micro-learning methodology.
The business schools of Sweden and Germany involved in the project have been developing their world-renowned sports and management centres for years now, functioning as interdisciplinary research centres boasting expertise in a wide range of areas from management and marketing to international business and finance. Through this project, ZSEM intends to lay the foundations for the creation of a similar sports centre here in Southeastern Europe.
The former President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic will more than likely succeed in her new position of ZSEM Advisor for International Affairs
The project will, as touched on, also include the former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic as the new advisor of ZSEM for international affairs. She otherwise became a member of the International Olympic Committee last year. In her new position, the former Croatian president will support ZSEM’s ambition to further expand in terms of international cooperation and even more actively engage in international projects.
“Since its establishment, ZSEM has been internationally oriented and we are continuously working on strengthening ties with those who are similar and the best business schools and universities around the world. We believe that this global networking is one of our greatest qualities and unique values that we can provide to our students. Therefore, we want to continue to strengthen our international cooperation and our global recognition and position in the coming years. The arrival of Ms. Grabar-Kitarovic in our team can undoubtedly help us significantly. We´re glad that she will share her rich and valuable life and professional experience she gained in her previous positions with us and our students,¨ said dr.sc. Mato Njavro Dean of ZSEM.
Former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, a member of the International Olympic Committee and the Croatian Club of Olympians, pointed out that former presidents across the world are engaged in education after the end of their political careers, and that she is glad that she got such an opportunity.
“The way ZSEM works and its ambitions for further development and international positioning have opened space for our cooperation. It started with a project related to sports and ZSEM’s desire to position itself as a regional centre for athlete education in the future. It is well known that sporting careers typically end when an individual is still young, and very often they do not have adequate skills and knowledge that would enable them to develop equally successful business careers, so their potential often remains underused, which is a missed opportunity for them as individuals and for the community as a whole,¨ pointed out the former president.
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