BHUBANESWAR: The Xavier Emlyon Business School (XEBS) on Monday kick-started India's first Indo-French dual master’s degree programme in Sports Industry Management here.
In collaboration with the Sports and Youth Services Department, the two-year joint degree is rolled out as part of XEBS Ahulwalia Centre of Excellence for Sports Management (CESM), one of the High-Performance Centres of the Odisha Government.
XEBS is a collaboration between XIM University, Bhubaneswar and Emlyon business school, France.
Speaking at the virtual inauguration, Sports and Youth Services Secretary R Vineel Krishna said the initiative is propelled by the State government with a vision to create a vibrant sports ecosystem. Students of the program will be exposed to a number of sports events and opportunities including the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in October 2022 and Hockey Men’s World Cup in 2023, he informed.
Held in the midst of the pandemic, the dual degree has received an enthusiastic response with nine students enrolling for the programme which combines an MBA from XIM University Bhubaneswar and an MSc from Emlyon business school, France.
In his address, XEBS chairman Ashley Fernandes said the MBA-MSc programme offers a global exposure link to the business school network. Hockey legend and four-time Olympian Dhanraj Pillay in his address thanked the Chief Minister for his support to hockey and other sports in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, former Indian hockey captain and chairman of Odisha Hockey Promotion Council Dilip Tirkey said Odisha is also focusing on the development of athletics, shooting, rugby, football, weightlifting and other Olympic disciplines which will offer huge career opportunities to youth in the sports sector in the state.
Vice-Chancellor of XIM University Antory R Uvari, Emlyon business school expert Michel Desbordes, XEBS dean Arun Kumar Paul and senior manager (operations) XEBS Diksha Tiwari who helmed admissions and ground operations of CESM also spoke.