Enhancing Sport Organisations and Management (ESOM)
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.
The partner consortium is composed of 8 partners, bringing together a European NGO sports entity (EUSA Institute), national university sport bodies in 6 countries (Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine) and one university (Ljubljana, Slovenia). Seven countries are involved through the partnership consortium, all of them coming from signatory countries of the Bologna Accord, members of the European Higher Education Area. The partnership also represents key areas of education, training, youth and sport.
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.
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.