Institute for Sport Business welcome industry expert in Sport Technology for a guest lecture
Last month, we welcomed Michael Flynn to present to our students and share his experience within the world of sport technology and digital sponsorship.
This talk was attended by over 90 students currently studying within our Institute for Sport Business as part of the New Media and Analytics for Sport Business module. This lecture gave students an insight into real-time sports sponsorship valuation and digital benchmarking software using the POWA index.
Michael Flynn is the Founder and CEO of DataPOWA, a UK technology company offering specialist data and analytics services to the sports and entertainment markets. DataPOWA has built the POWA index, an AI driven platform that collects and analyses data which is output via a relative index ranking system.
Speaking of the guest lecturer, Michael said:
"I thoroughly enjoy presenting on the Sports Sponsorship and New Media & Analytics modules; it's great to be able to pass on experience and relevant background to future leaders and decision makers within our industry, and we as a business also get constructive feedback about our technology platforms from great minds at the onset of their journey into the business of sport."
Dr Emily Hayday, a Lecturer within our Institute for Sport Business and the module leader of the New Media and Analytics module, has said:
“From a pedagogical approach, for me it is critical to provide the students with practical, industry led content and given the nature of the module focusing on the themes of new media and analytics within sport business- working with DataPOWA was extremely fitting.
Expertise from industry professionals Mike and Tom showcased the dynamic and data driven realities of the industry, this allowed the students to grasp why platforms like POWA index have been created. By creating an interactive session showcasing the affordances and abilities of the AI driven, real time valuation engine (POWA index) this helped the students to understand how rightsholders, agencies and other industry stakeholders can use such insights to inform and optimise their business strategy.”
This lecture also involved a demonstration of the POWA index platform and students were set an activity to try out the platform for themselves. Rahul, a student within the Institute for Sport Business attended this lecture and said:
“The DataPOWA session gave us a real-world insight into the application of advanced technology and analytics in the world of sport. Mike and Tom were able to not only demonstrate the abilities of their platform, but also brought valuable expertise and perspective on wider societal trends and direction that underpin the need for such tools. They were thoroughly engaging and candid with their thoughts and energised the students with the scope of their mission. As someone who is very interested in the commercial aspects of sport, this exposure to such an innovative company will prove extremely useful to my understanding of the industry and also help to direct my career choices.”
In this talk, students were given the opportunity to ask questions throughout and learn more about using the DataPOWA 2.0 First Party data platform.
We would like to say a big thank you to Michael for speaking with our students.
To find out more about our Institute for Sport Business, please visit this page.
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
Specialising exclusively in postgraduate-level study, Loughborough University London is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers cutting-edge master’s and PhD degrees, as well as business collaboration, research and enterprise opportunities.
The seven specialist institutes at Loughborough University London include: Design Innovation, Digital Technologies, Diplomacy and International Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Management, Media and Creative Industries, and Sport Business. Close industry partnerships with a wealth of leading businesses and creative organisations means teaching and learning is informed by real-life challenges and driven by true industry pressures.