The Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation "Russian International Olympic University" (RIOU) was established on 21 October 2009 under the Memorandum of Understanding between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, and the Russian Olympic Committee, and under a decree of the Russian Federation No 774. The founders of the University are the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), and Interros private investment company.
RIOU is the world's first University dedicated to sport business education, offering unique programs infused with Olympic values and experiences. RIOU's activities concentrate on training specialists in sports management for the Russian and international sports industry and the Olympic and Paralympic Movements. The University's educational programs cover sports education's main aspects: venue and infrastructure management, competitions, mass communications, diplomacy and administration, and career management. The University's main educational product is a one-year Master of Sport Administration (MSA) course. Today RIOU is an international center for education and a platform for multilateral dialogue between researchers and practitioners in sports and Olympic education.
Mission:
- To create a next-generation university - the very best in the sphere of sports and Olympic education
- To prepare leaders for the Russian and worldwide sports industry
- To build modern research facilities for the Olympic Movement and Russian sport
- To keep and develop the Olympic legacy of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.
Over the last decades, the sports economy and industry have undergone considerable changes: the macroeconomic environment has been radically changed. The sports industry is rapidly transforming into an independent, developing business area. The radical changes within the sports industry are ongoing, and much has still to be done to put Russian sport at the top of the industry.
Staging a series of massive international competitions in Russia, firstly the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, has revealed a great demand for next-generation sports managers. The Russian International Olympic University has become a key instrument in preparing professionals who will participate in organizing the most innovative Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and provide effective management of the sports industry in the future.
