Sport Studies

Gwen has the Dutch nationality, but has lived most of her life in Dubai, where she attended a British school. When she heard about Sport Studies - track ISMB, she took the opportunity and applied. In the first year she went on 2 international fieldtrips. In London for example, she visited the location of the 2012 Olympics. These fieldtrips provided her with some first-hand experience of how sport is organised and regulated.

Internship Anglo-American School Moscow

'In my second year, I did my 3-month internship at the Anglo-American School in Moscow as an assistant to the Athletics Director. I helped setting up and executing a basketball event, as well as providing a plan on how to improve their sport facilities. I learned about the variables and amount of people needed for a successful event to take place. It felt like a huge compliment when the event ran smoothly and everyone enjoyed it.'

Field trip to Bosnia

'In the third year I chose the Sport Development minor which included a field trip to Bosnia. This trip revolved around how sport can be used to bring people together and to create a community which betters the local population. Before going to Bosnia, we got in contact with a Karate Club and raised money to buy them necessary materials such as a heating system and mirrors. We also helped refurbish a room at the Karate Club where children could go and study during the day. It was great to see the impact that we could make within a week.'

Sport Development

'I really enjoyed the Sport Development minor. Besides using sport as a tool for development, sport itself can be developed. A change in a sport club, for example, could be to have wheelchair access everywhere, or to have a para team train at the same time as the non-disabled, to make them feel more included. I definitely see myself working on developing sport in the future.'  

Internship JK58 event management company

'My strategic internship in year 4 was at JK58; an events management company in Dubai which organises sport events in the Middle East for well-known sports brands, such as Nike and Reebok. I chose JK58 because of the partners the company works with as it provides me with a great opportunity to build my network in the sports world.'

Research study at JK58

'During my internship I researched ways to get more people to participate in the events of JK58 by looking at how other countries organise their events, as well as looking at event trends. I worked with their clients as well as going to events to ask the participants for their insight.'