iSR Academy offers Olympians fantastic post-career scholarship opportunity

7 | 4 | 2016

Olympians who are no longer competing or who are coming to the end of their sporting careers are being given a fantastic opportunity to apply for the Academy run by the International Sports Relations Foundation (iSR) – an educational and training programme aimed at helping the career transition of elite athletes.

The programme, which will offer up to 20 scholarship places and will run for 10 months, is offering free academic training to Olympians who are interested in furthering their careers in the field of international sport business and administration. The initiative is unique in that it is solely for elite athletes offering the following wide-ranging benefits:

• A Graduate Certificate in Sports Management (or Diploma if you do not have an undergraduate degree)
• A two-three month internship (2015-16 internships included PyeongChang 2018, George Mason University Korea, coaching through Korean National Federations)
• Microsoft Office training and qualifications across the primary applications
• English lessons and qualification (for those fluent in English, other opportunities will be available)
• A discovery programme to highlight sports career opportunities, and also to better understand yourself, your skills and your preferences
• Field trips

Chosen applicants will receive full scholarship benefits including free tuition, living expenses, return flight tickets and basic insurance.

Based in Korea at the Incheon Global Campus (IGC), 30 minutes from Incheon-Seoul airport, the Academy is endorsed and supported by the Association of National Olympic Committees and the South Korean Government.

To apply athletes must have retired with in the last four years or be about to retire. For further information about eligibility and admissions please go to www.isracademy.org. The deadline for applications is 30 April 2016 to begin the course on 12 September 2016.

Adam Pengilly, two-time Olympian, IOC member and Director of the iSR Academy, said:

"In today’s world, due to sport becoming more and more professionalised, athletes have less time to gain a full education and learn other skills and expertise away from the field of play. This can lead to serious challenges when it comes to transitioning from a sporting career to everyday life.

“At the iSR Academy we aim to help this transition by providing certificates in sport management, an internship and work experience opportunities in thriving environments, hands on skills and expertise in IT and languages and enabling the individuals understand themselves and their work style and preferences. We’re looking forward to receiving applications and setting athletes on a new exciting career path."