Connecting Worlds Through Sports and Education


Similar to music and dance, I truly believe that sport and education have the power to unite people from across the world. I experienced this over the past few days while hosting a group of sports management students from Deakin University – Australia.  This was the third year in a row that I have presented the ‘Indian Football Landscape’ to the Deakin students however, this engagement was something truly special.

The Global Institute of Sports Business took the initiative to ensure that our friends from Australia had an experience that they will not soon forget – which stemmed across sport, education and cultural immersion. The primary in-classroom highlight of Day 1 was when the students from both countries came together to research and present on various ways in which Australian and Indian sports properties can build their respective brands in the other country.  This was followed by a riveting Bollywood dance workshop which left the entire group high-fiving, laughing and hugging like they have known each other for years.

Day 2 was intense. We started the day with a yoga class which was followed by a series of Guest Lectures delivered by representatives of the following sports companies: IMG-Reliance, USports, International Olympics Committee, JSW Sports, FIFA U17 World Cup and FutureGroup. There were no formal presentations as each speaker chose to focus on sharing their own personal journeys into the sports industry and offer some guidance to the group of aspiring sports management professionals.

By the end of the day, the entire group felt like one solid unit.  It was interesting to observe our Indian students open up over the 2 days and inter-mingle with their Australian counter-parts.  As I reflect on the whole experience, a few interesting insights come to mind:
  • Our students stepped up their game when they were grouped with the Australian students and requested to make a presentation on a particular topic
  • The Bollywood dance workshop was one of the best ways to bring the group together as the students had to work together and look silly in front of one another
  • Starting the day with group yoga and meditation had a powerful impact and grounded everyone so that they could absorb the rest of the day
  • These inter-program exchanges provide an ideal platform for students to begin building their network outside of their batch 
I hope to replicate this with students from programs located all over the world as the Indian cultural and sports experience can be eye-opening and life-changing for those who arrive into the country open for anything. 











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