AISTS Scholarship for MSA 2009

The International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS) assumes its obligation to support the development and professionalisation of sport worldwide by granting a scholarship for one candidate for the 7^th edition of its internationally recognised Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration & Technology (MSA) in 2009.

To visit the AISTS Scholarship page and get more information, click here.

AISTS and MSA successful at 20km of Lausanne

26 April 2008

With 17 participants from the AISTS and the MSA the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology was very well represented at the Lausanne 20km event. Running together for the “www.aists.org”-team and cheered by their classmates and students, our staff and MSA participants achieved personal records. Especially notable is the excellent result of our executive director, Claude Stricker, that finished 9^th in his age category for the 10k. However, with five top-25 positions (20km: Amandine Bousigue (MSA2008) 11^th, Dominique Gobat (AISTS) 16^th, Sandra Kühni (MSA2008) 24^th; 10 km: Claude Stricker (AISTS) 9^th, Joyce Chang (MSA2008) 12^th) fantastic team results were achieved: place 16 for the 20km team and place 14 for the 10km team. Congratulations to the all runners!

Detailed results:

18. /out of 42 teams: www.aists.org - 20 km   7:58.09,6

Gobat Dominique (AISTS/MSA2007)	20H20   1:16.45,6        16.

Bousigue Amandine (MSA2008)     20F20	1:34.42,8        11.

Kuehni Sandra (MSA2008)         20F30	1:34.57,5        24.

Keller Alexander (MSA2008	20H30	1:44.17,7        445.

Mifsud Aidan (MSA2008)          20H30   1:47.26,0        497.

Maher Catherine (MSA2008)	20F20	1:49.14,4        44.

Rozwadowska Wanda (MSA2008)   	20F20 	1:50.33,7        50.

Ahuja Gurdeepak (MSA2008) 	20H20 	1:54.39,6        305. 

Jeffrey Pownell (MSA2008) 	20H45 	2:10.59,5        310.

14. out of 83 teams. www.aists.org - 10 km   3:55.44,5
Stricker Claude (AISTS)		10H50	42.09,1            9.
Chiang Joyce (MSA2008)       	10F20	46.16,1            12.
Delapierre Olivier (MSA2008)   	10H30	48.04,5            207.
Vinkenvleugel Tom (MSA2007)	10H20   49.28,4            212.
Marchand Denis (MSA2007)     	10H30 	49.46,4            273.
Bohli Raphael (MSA2008)		10H20	54.12,3            353.
Danics Dora (MSA2008)		10F30	55.54,7            119.
Gebistorf Marion (MSA2008)	10F20	1:00.28,2          231.

MSA 2008 participants at international sport headquarters

Feb.-Apr. 2008

Four months into the course, our MSA 2008 participants can claim that they already know quite well how sport federations are functioning.  About 14 sport federations, including the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), took the opportunity to join our MSA class for a presentation and discussion about their organisation. Amongst them the FIBA (basketball), FIH (hockey), UIAA (Mountaineering), FISA (rowing), FITA (archery), IMGA (master games), and EGA (European golf).With the International Tennis Federation (ITF) an important international player from outside of Switzerland found its way to the MSA classroom on the EPFL campus.

Four federations dedicated a whole afternoon/day to the MSA participants and invited them to their headquarters to also show them their facilities and present several departments to them.

UCI in Aigle kick-off this series of field trips in February and invited the MSA participants to Aigle to the World Cycling Centre. The fight against doping, with Anne Gripper, manager anti-doping services and MSA 2006, talking about the anti-doping programmes and initiatives of UCI, was one of the topics discussed that day. To round of a morning of presentations and discussion, the class got the opportunity to try out the indoor cycling track after a short initiation.

In March, IOC welcomed our MSA participants in Vidy. Ruth Beck Perrenoud from IOC put together a comprehensive programme for the day inviting all important departments including the new Youth Olympic Games department to come and discuss with the MSA participants.

The MSA participants at UEFA and the UCI headquarters

The first Friday in April was themed: “MSA cares about football”. In Nyon, Thomas Junod from UEFA tested the knowledge of the MSA participants about European Football and was quite impressed that even though half of the class are non-Europeans their level of knowledge was very high. Discussion about the Champions League marketing, disputes, new media, and club licensing where much appreciated. For lunch MSA alumni, now working for UEFA or the EURO2008, joined the class to exchange and give advice.

After a visit to class, the ITTF (table-tennis) invited the MSA class to their museum, a guided tour included, to tell them more about the history of the sport and the development over the years.

In the coming months, visits from other international sport federations and a field trip to Berne to the House of Sport and Baspo will give the MSA participants more chances to understand the structure of the federations’ world.

The AISTS Welcomes 36 New Students for the MSA in Lausanne, the "Olympic Capital">

January 7th, 2008

As of 7th January 2008, 36 ambitious and sports-minded individuals will pursue their Master in Sport Administration and Technology (MSA) at the International Academy of Sports Science & Technology (AISTS) in Lausanne for the next 12 months.

The new 2008 MSA class consists of 36 students, half of them women, coming from 15 different countries, multilingual, bringing diverse educational backgrounds, work experience, and of course a strong passion for sport. Among the group there are international and national sporting champions as well as successful sports managers and coaches. Please find short profiles of each participant in the MSA class of 2008 brochure.Again the AISTS is serving as the international melting pot for sports managers.

This year Prof. Jan- Anders Månson, President of the AISTS and Vice-President of EPFL, Dr Claude Stricker, the Executive Director of the AISTS, Prof Daniel Oyon, Chairman of the MSA Scientific Committee, and several other Scientific Committee members were present to welcome the new students at the Maison du Sport International (MSI). Prof. Månson was encouraging the students to take advantage of the opportunity to exchange and share their knowledge with their MSA classmates and with students on the EPFL and UNIL campuses (the EPFL is rated as the most international campus in the world). Dr. Stricker pointed out that the Olympic Capital offers a unique sports environment with many International Sport Federations and the IOC present in Lausanne and its surrounding area.

The Sports Services department of Lausanne, represented by the MSI (Maison du Sport International) manager Nicolas Pasquini, took the opportunity to welcome the new MSA class and to get them acquainted with the MSI and its sport organisations. Matt Smith, Executive Director of FISA (International Rowing Federation) headquartered in the MSI, gave the students a first-hand introduction to the International Federation environment.

The first day of the MSA 2008 ended with a cocktail at the MSI and a first possibility to socialise with MSA Alumni and staff of the sports organisations present at the MSI.

So, once again welcome to our new MSA students and their families!

MSA 2007 Graduation Ceremony

December 14th, 2007

The 5^th edition of the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration has come to a successful end. On Friday the 14^th of December 31 Students, representing 17 nationalities received their MSA Degree at the Olympic Museum. 31 Students started in January and all of them made it to the finish in December, a great accomplishment.

More than 120 people attended this years’ Graduation Ceremony. Not only families and friends of the students, but also many other interested people from the international sporting world listened to a variety of speakers. Dr. Claude Stricker, Executive Director of the AISTS, opened the evening with expressing the need for trans-disciplinary sport managers in the complex world of sport, the importance and the role of the athlete, but also highlighting the unique friendship within the class of 2007. New AISTS President and Vice-President of the EPFL, Jan-Anders Manson, then insisted on the importance and the strength of technology and innovation in sport, by presenting the Alinghi relationship between EPFL and Team Alinghi, winner of the 31^st and 32^nd America’s Cup.

It was Mr. Patrick Baumann, IOC Member and Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation who inspired and entertained the guests with personal experiences and anecdotes about his career and working within the organisation of an International Federation.

Finally, after the hand-over of the diplomas to the MSA graduates, Ms. Karin Gross from Germany was awarded by the Swiss Association of Sport Managers (ASMS) for the best overall results. The evening was closed with a final word about the experiences of the past year by MSA graduate, Mr. Tom Vinkenvleugel from the Netherlands.

A big ‘thank you’ also goes out to Jéremie Stricker and Nicolas Badoux, who served the guests with beautiful musical intermezzos playing the Marimba and a Vibraphone.

All of the graduates have already been involved in the world of sport by conducting a team project and an internship for International Sport Federations, the IOC or other sports organisations. We are very pleased that most of them found already a placement within these organisations for 2008.

For more information on the MSA Program, please >click here<.

MSA Graduation Ceremony 2007

December 1 2007

The AISTS is pleased to announce the graduation ceremony for the MSA students of 2007 on Friday, December 14^th at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. The evening is open to anyone who is interested in attending this celebration.

Having successfully completed the trans-disciplinary program with modules in Medicine, Technology, Law, Sociology, and Management, as well as a team project, a personal project and an internship, the students will become graduates on Friday, December 14.

The Graduation Ceremony will take place from 18.00 – 21.00 hours at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

The keynote speakers are:

Mr. Patrick Baumann
IOC Member and Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation

Prof. Jan–Anders Månson
AISTS President and EPFL Vice-President for Innovation & Technology transfer

The Graduation Ceremony is followed by a cocktail where you will have the opportunity to congratulate the Graduates.

MSA 2007

August 1, 2007, Lausanne, Switzerland

The 5^th edition of the AISTS Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology (MSA) is now half way through. Since January 2007, 31 students representing 17 nationalities have followed lectures in five disciplines (management, technology, law, sociology & medicine), completed a real mandate for a sports organisation as their team project, and written their final exams. Starting in August, the MSA students have to do a 2-month minimum internship and conduct an academic research study before graduating in December.

The 6^th  edition of the AISTS Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology (MSA) will start on January 7, 2008 with 35 students. The second and last application deadline is on September 15, 2007.

MSA Alumni Event at the Allianz Suisse Open in Gstaad

July 12, 2007, Gstaad, Switzerland

With five editions of the MSA program and 131 graduates to date, it was high time to organise an MSA Alumni get-together. The event was held during the Allianz Suisse Open ATP tennis tournament in Gstaad, which showcased 5 of the top 20 players in the world.

Impressively, of the 131 people scattered around the globe, 50 MSA alumni and students were able to attend in addition to a number of staff and professors of the program. Appearances were also made by Pierre-Alain Cardinaux (Head of Ernst & Young Suisse Romande), Jan-Anders Manson (AISTS President), Jean-François Collet (Allianz Suisse Tournament Director and co-owner of Grand Chelem Management), and of course Claude Stricker (Executive Director of the AISTS).

The day started out with a behind the scenes tour of the facilities given by the organisers of the event, Grand Chelem Management. The group was then treated to a day of watching the semi-finals of Paul-Henri Mathieu (ATP 23) vs. Radek Stepanek (ATP 101) and Igor Andreev (ATP 54) vs. Andreas Seppi (ATP 83). The tennis was outstanding, with the first semi-finals going to a dramatic third set tie-break.

MSA loses a hard fought battle to UEFA

June 25, 2007, UEFA, Nyon, Switzerland

Representatives from all the editions of the MSA (’03 –’07) teamed up to take on the UEFA staff for a friendly football match. With a tight loss of 2-1, the MSA was not able revenge their previous loss to UEFA in 2005. The game was held at the UEFA stadium in Nyon on June 25, 2007 in tough weather conditions. After giving up a penalty kick and another goal early in the second half, the MSA team scored but were not able to equalise before the end of the game.

MSA Students visited the Stade de Suisse in Bern

June 7, 2007, Bern, Switzerland

MSA students 2007 went on a field trip to Bern to visit the Stade de Suisse. This 3-hour visit included a tour of all the stadium facilities as well as a very interesting talk by Mr. Viktor Baumann, Events Director. This visit was part of the "Infrastructure, Architecture and Stadium" module in the Technology discipline.

World Men's Curling Championship

March 31 - April 8, 2007, Edmonton, Canada

MSA student 2007 Ralph Stöckli has been the Swiss national team skip at the World Men's Curling Championship taking place in Edmonton, Canada. After nine days of great competition, effort and concentration, Ralph and his teammates finished to a brilliant 4th position overall! The AISTS congratulates MSA student 2007 Ralph Stöckli for this amazing result!

To read about Ralph Stöckli's actions, please click >here<

Field Visit of DECISION SA

March 26 , 2007, Vevey, Switzerland

The MSA students visited the DECISION ship building company on Monday March 26 in Vevey as part of the MSA programme. Since its creation in 1983, DECISION S.A. has been developing and implementing projects using composite materials. The know-how gained in implementing carbon-fibre, glass or aramid can be applied in the ship building industry as well as in construction, industry and sports equipment. Over the last 17 years, DECISION S.A. has mainly been active in the fields of ship building in which it has built several prototypes destined for high-sea competition, regattas run on Lake Geneva, motor-driven yachts and even professional rescue vessels. Decision built the Alinghi boats that win the 32nd America's Cup in 2003.

Field Visit to the Xtreme Verbier

March 24-25 , 2007, Verbier, Switzerland

A field visit to the Xtreme Verbier was organised for the MSA students during the week-end of the competition. The students had the opportunity to attend one of the organising committee meetings. On Sunday, the were also offered free passes to the contest. Year after year the Xtreme has become the grandest manifestation of freeriding in the world.

MSA 2007 & IF Days

January, 2007, EPFL & MSI, Lausanne, Switzerland

The fifth edition of the MSA started on January 8, 2007 with 31 students representing 17 nationalities. Their first field trip was the IF Days at the MSI - Maison du Sport International on January 18 & 19. During these two days, the MSA students had the opportunity to interact with international sports leaders sharing their experience and work. Mr. Richard Heath, Championships Manager at the European Golf Association and MSA 2005 Graduate, Mr. Jordi Serra, Executive Director at the International Table Tennis Federation, Mr. Tom Dielen, Secretary General of the International Archery Federation and Mr. Florian Wanninger, Head of Communications at FIBA, presented the strategy, challenges and specificities of their respective federation. On the following day, Mr. Christian Milz, Executive Director at the European Athletics Federation, presented the EAA new sponsorship and partnership strategy, while Mrs. Sarah Lewis, Secretary General of the International Ski Federation, insisted on FIS functioning and corporate governance.

MSA 2006 Graduation Ceremony

December 16, 2006, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland

The MSA 2006 students graduated on December 16 from the 4th edition of the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology. Since the first edition in 2003, 101 students have graduated from the MSA.

AISTS Executive Director Claude Stricker opened the ceremony by expressing his warm gratitude to Prof. Jean-Marc Rap, former AISTS President and former Rector of the University of Lausanne, who had supported the AISTS since its foundation in 2000. New AISTS President and EPFL Vice-President for innovation & technology transfer, Prof. Jan-Anders Manson, insisted then on the strength of the youth to bring new innovating solutions to the sports world.

The ceremony included also two excellent talks by Mr. Gilbert Felli, Olympic Games Executive Director, who presented the debriefing of Torino 2006 Olympic Games and Mr. Carl-Axel Hageskog, five times Davis Cup winner, who shared his experience as a world-class professional tennis coach.

Finally, after the hand-over of the diplomas to the MSA graduates, Mrs. June Canavan from Australia was awarded by the Swiss Association of Sport Managers (ASMS) for the best overall results.

MSA students visit the IOC Headquarters

May 8, 2006, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland

The MSA students have visited the International Olympic Committee headquarters to get an in-depth insight of the organisation. The IOC headquarters are located 20 minutes walking from the MSA classroom.

The students were warmly welcomed by Mr. G. Felli, Olympic Games Executive Director, who underlined the strong support and commitment of the IOC towards AISTS.

His presentation was followed by four other very interesting ones. Mr. T. Burgener of the Communication department explained the history and the philosophy of the IOC and Olympic Movement; Mrs. J. Christiansen of the Marketing department presented the Olympic marketing and sponsorship strategies; Mr. C. Dubi, Olympic Games Deputy Executive Director, talked about the Olympic Games management; and finally Mrs. N. Lainé of the Sports department explained the Olympic program.

Field visit of the International Cycling Union

March 2, 2006, UCI, Aigle, Switzerland

The International Cycling Union (UCI) invited the 35 MSA students for a visit on March 2 of the World Cycling Centre at Aigle for both informative presentations and some physical activity.

UCI General Director Mr. Dieter Schellenberg welcomed the students and gave a brief overview of the organisation and the main objectives of the association. Before UCI Managers' special presentations in the afternoon, the students then had the opportunity to try the track cycling facilities under the supervision of former gold medalist Robert Dill-Bundi.

MSA students visited the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games

February 24, 2006, Torino, Italy

The MSA 2006 students went on Friday February 24 to Torino 2006 XX Olympics Winter Games. After a special visit of the Olympic Village in Torino and lectures from TOROC managers about their work and responsibilities, the MSA students watched the Men's 1000m speed skating final at Oval Lingotto.

Snow Day for the MSA Classroom

February 15, 2006, La Tzoumaz, Switzerland

The MSA students spent the day in La Tzoumas/Les-Mayens-de-Riddes for snow activities. Luge, skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing were on the agenda, with a well deserved cheese fondue at night in a very typical Swiss chalet.

International Federations Days

January 19-20 & 25, and May 10, 2005, Lausanne, Switzerland

Representatives of the following International Sports Federations came during these days to present their organisation: AIBA - International Boxing Federation; ASOIF - Association of Summer Olympic International Federation; EAA - European Athletics Association; FEI - International Equestrian Federation; FIBA - International Basketball Federation; FILA - International Wrestling Federation; FISA - International Rowing Federation; FITA - International Archery Federation; FITB - International Tchoukball Federation; ITTF - International Table Tennis Federation; UEFA - Union of European Football Associations; Springboost - High Performance Athletic Footwear

MSA 2006

January 9, 2006, Lausanne, Switzerland

35 students representing 17 countries have started the 4th edition of the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology (MSA). The students’ age average is 30 years old, ranging from 23 to 55, and their university backgrounds are very diverse this year again.

MSA 2005 Graduation Ceremony

December 17, 2005, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland

The MSA 2005 students graduated on December 17 from the 3rd edition of the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology.
The diploma is co-signed by the Universities of Geneva, Lausanne, the EPFL & the IDHEAP.

The graduation ceremony, held at the Olympic Museum, was lead by Mr. Francis-Luc Perret (EPFL & AISTS Vice-President) and the MSA steering committee, represented by Mrs. Margareta Baddeley (University of Geneva) & Dr Claude Stricker (AISTS Executive Director).

Mr. Urs Lacotte, IOC Director General & member of the AISTS Foundation Committee, and Mrs. Géraldine Fasnacht, professional snowboarder, were the guest speakers of the ceremony. Mr. Lacotte explained "the link between private and public management in sport" and Mrs. Fasnacht presented her exciting snowboarder and basejumper life.

The Swiss Association of Sport Managers (ASMS) awarded Mrs. Rikka Rakic Pakkala, MSA 2005 graduate, with a CHF 500 prize for the best overall grades

MSA vs. UEFA

October 24, 2005, Nyon, UEFA Sport Center, Switzerland

The MSA students played a friendly football match against the UEFA team on October 24 in Colovray near UEFA headquarters. Both teams were fit and sharp and the game was very tight till the end. Finally the UEFA team scored a last and decisive goal just a few minutes before full time and wan the game 4-3.

MSA 2004 students graduate from AISTS

January 28, 2005, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland

30 students from over 15 countries graduated on January 28 from the 2nd edition of the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology (MSA). The graduation ceremony was lead by Mr Francis-Luc Perret (EPFL & AISTS Vice-President) and the MSA steering committee, represented by Dr Claude Stricker (AISTS Executive Director), Prof Daniel Oyon (HEC Lausanne), Prof John Antonakis (HEC Lausanne) and Dr Pierre Rossel (EPFL).

The highlights of the ceremony were the key note speakers Mr Jim Bungener and Mr Jon Ferguson. Mr Bungener, from the Alinghi Design Team, demonstrated the close interaction between technology and sports with the example of the Alinghi boat design process. Mr Ferguson, basketball coach, writer and philosopher, gave the graduates some practical advice as how to lead people as future sport managers by sharing his experiences as a successful basketball coach.

MSA Alumni Association founded

January 27, 2005, Lausanne, Switzerland

The graduates from the 2003 and 2004 edition of the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration (MSA) have founded the MSA Alumni Association. The main objective of the Association is to promote and to reinforce contacts, mutual assistance and information between all its members, across the various years of graduation of the MSA.

Oliver Wirz, 2004 graduate, has been elected as the first MSA Alumni president. Further committee members are Astrid Redier (2003 graduate), Sally Parry (2004 graduate) and Stefan Aniol (2004 graduate).