Institute for Sport Business host annual ISB Careers Symposium

The ISB Careers Symposium 2021 was a chance for our students to hear first-hand from industry experts, as they discussed key themes within sport business, including innovation, technology, marketing and analytics.

Additionally, the event featured an impressive alumni panel, which consisted of past Institute for Sport Business students who are now working across the sport ecosystem. All panellists provided our current and prospective students with valuable insights into future career prospects within the sports industry, top tips on networking and how to stand out when applying for jobs.

This event featured three tracks:

1. Sport Business Innovation, Technology and Analytics
2. Sport Business Marketing and Commercial
3. Sport Business Alumni Panel

Industry speakers for these tracks included Rachel Knight (Commercial Director at BT Sport), Matt Pound (CMO at the International Table Tennis Federation), Rebecca Perez  (Senior Manager, Olympic Sponsorships at Cisco), Andrew Cooke (General Counsel at Fnatic), James Salmon (Marketing Director at EA SPORTS FIFA) and Ben Crossing (Managing Director at Hawk Eye Innovations Ltd).

This event had a fantastic turn out, with prospective students, current students, alumni and external partners engaging in dynamic and progressive discussions.

Dr Emily Hayday, Lecturer within the Institute for Sport Business and organiser of the ISB Careers Symposium has said:

‘It is critical to prepare our students for life after their studies within the Institute for Sport Business, and having the chance to hear from a range of industry experts and alumni who are working across the sport industry allows students to build their networks and think about routes into the sports industry’.

In speaking of the event, current student Yoana said:

'As well as providing a great opportunity to host a watch party of the symposium on campus and meet fellow institute students, the symposium gave us a great introduction to the different pathways of the sport industry. I also think the alumni panel is always a great way to ask those who were in our shoes, how they got to where they are today. As students, the nuggets of wisdom we gained from the symposium were incredibly helpful for us at this critical time, as we begin to think about our future and apply for jobs. Thank you to Emily for hosting!'

Current student Sajith, who attended the Innovation, Technology and Analytics track said:

“The ISB careers symposium was a great opportunity to interact with experts from various domains in the sport industry. As a Sport Technology and Analytics student, I was gravitated to the Innovation, Technology and Analytics track where we got to pick the brains of Ben Crossing, James Salmon and Andrew Cooke from Hawk Eye Innovations, EA Sports and Fnatic respectively. They were very keen to share their expertise and candidly answered a wide range of questions from us. The event provided a great networking platform in the most opportune time when we are applying for graduate jobs.”

Thank you to Emily Hayday and the Institute for Sport Business for organising such an informative and interactive event.