Enhancing Sport Organisations and Management (ESOM) 
Objective:
Strengthen management and event organization in university sports through blended learning, experience sharing, and skill development in key areas such as sports management, funding, and communication.
Project duration: 24 months, starting from 1 January 2023 until 31 December 2024.
Purpose:
- Address EU priorities by supporting good governance in sport.
- Promote the quality of coaching and staff.
- Indirectly support sport and education, including the dual careers of athletes.
How?
General:
- Research: Conduct surveys and collect best practices to inform project activities.
- Education: Organize online and live workshops and seminars to disseminate knowledge and skills.
- Implementation: Plan and execute strategies to improve university sports governance and management.
Specific:
- Exchange Opportunities: Facilitate the exchange of experiences and insights between partner institutions.
- Toolkit Development: Develop resources and recommendations to assist stakeholders in university sports management.
- Dissemination and Sustainability: Share findings and establish sustainability for improved practices in university sports management.
Partners Involved:
- Coordinator: EUSA Institute (Slovenia)
- National University Sport Bodies:
- Croatian Academic Sports Federation (Croatia)
- Hungarian University Sports Federation (Hungary)
- Students Sports Association of Montenegro (Montenegro)
- Student Sports Association the Netherlands (Netherlands)
- University Sports Association of Poland (Poland)
- Sports Students' Union of Ukraine (Ukraine)
- University Partner: University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)
More Information:
- Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union
- Visit the project website at ESOM Project
Overview:
Main aim of the project is to strengthen management and event organisation in university sport. This will be done through blended learning, sharing experiences, gaining new information and skills on the key topics of sports management, funding, communication and other key topics.
Main activities and pillars include research (conducting a survey and collecting good practice), education (online and live workshops and seminars), and dissemination (creating resources and recommendations, conferences).
The project primarily and directly addresses EU priorities on supporting Good Governance in Sport through promoting the quality of coaching and staff, and also indirectly by promoting Sport and Education, supporting the dual careers of athletes.
Sport in tertiary education does not have a unified approach in Europe, so the project will engage entities from different countries and experiences, including Programme and Partner countries. Enhancing sport organisations and management (ESOM) aims to strengthen management and event organisation in university sport through blended learning, sharing experiences, gaining new information.
Results of the project will be 3-fold, contributing to the priorities of the call: improving cooperation between organisations, strengthening their expertise and activities; improving participation in sports and physical activities in grassroot sport (recreation and non-professional competitions); and supporting student athletes in their dual career paths (ensuring study possibilities for elite and high level athletes). Engaging assorted partners in the consortium, as well as reaching out wider where possible, and sharing the project activities and results in an open way will enable wide dissemination, exploitation and sustainability of the results.
In 2023, two in person meetings and few online gatherings took place witin the ESOM Project. The kick off meeting was held in Ljubljana on 14th of February, while the second in person meeting was held in Porec, Croatia on 9th of June.
On 29th of November, as part of the international conference on Sustainability and Legacy in Sport: Challenges and Perspectives held in Kyiv, the Satellite seminar on Management of University Sport: Sustainable development of the Erasmus+ Project Enhancing Sport Organizations and Management (ESOM), took place. At this seminar, all of the project partners had their chance to present their engagement in different topics, such as: Engagement and Participation in university sport , media and communication strategies, marketing and promotion in university sport and best practices, as well as a detailed overview of the projects timeline and activities up to date.
In the begining of 2024, on 2nd of February partners met in Warsaw, for the third in person meeting. The day was focused on a seminar, organized as presentations and discussions to share different experiences on the principals topics of volunteering and management of sports events. The main aim of the project itself, is to strengthen management and event organisation in university sport. This is being done through blended learning, sharing experiences, gaining new information and skills on the key topics of sports management, funding, communication and other key topics.
On July 14th, a project partner meeting for the Enhancing Sport Organisations and Management (ESOM) was held in Miskolc, Hungary. The meeting was held during the European Universities Games 2024, held in both Debrecen and Miskolc, from 12th to 24th of July.
Project partners had the opportunity to discuss the results of a survey regarding the practice of sport in different European countries based on various criteria such as gender, sport type, and funding sources.
The Enhancing Sport Organization and Management (ESOM) project was concluded on 31st of August with the last partners project meeting held at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb, hosted by the Croatian Academic Sports Federation (CASF).
The project was ongoing for two years, primarily and directly addresing EU priorities on supporting Good Governance in Sport through promoting the quality of coaching and staff, and also indirectly promoting Sport and Education, supporting the dual careers of athletes.
The last conclusive project meeting of the partners, served as an occasion to go through the general overview and the activities implemented during the project, as well as to share the action plan of the next activities foreseen, before the technical and official closure of the project.
ESOM is lead by the EUSA Institute (SLO), with national university sports associations: Croatian Academic Sports Federation (CRO), Hungarian University Sports Federation (HUN), Students Sports Association of Montenegro (MNE), Student Sports Association the Netherlands (NED), University Sports Association of Poland (POL), Sports Students' Union of Ukraine (UKR) and the University of Ljubljana (SLO). The project is co-funded by the European Union.
For more information, please see https://esom.eusa.eu.