A summary of some of the highlights of the partnership so far
Providing unique opportunities for students and academic staff to lead key projects
An ongoing research project, titled: One Team GB, sees students and academics explore the history of British Olympic champions of the past. The aim is to inspire current Team GB athletes to achieve success by connecting them to their athletic heritage.
Unique opportunities for students to work on real life business case studies
A marketing challenge set by the British Olympic Association’s Head of Marketing, Ed Jones, in which students created new ideas for Team GB to engage fans – providing an unrivalled opportunity for personal development. The winning student impressed with her concept of an Olympic themed app, and as a result enjoyed an exclusive one-to-one Q&A with Ed to discuss his career path to date, and to receive advice on how she could progress her own marketing career – another example of the benefits the partnership with Team GB has brought to the University.
Encouraging students and staff to get active
As part of the University’s commitment to maintain the health, wellbeing and mindfulness of its staff and students throughout the difficult lockdown months, the University co-created social media content with Team GB in the form of “Workout Wednesdays”. Team GB athletes, including Olympic silver medallist Vicky Thornley, developed a variety of workouts targeting everything from chests to calves to cores!
Volunteering opportunities
In 2019, student and staff volunteers had the chance to attend the Birmingham NEC for the Team GB Kitting-Out event, ahead of the Minsk 2019 European Games. It gave them a chance to meet Team GB athletes, including cyclist Jason Kenny, and be part of the buzz surrounding the first major step in the build-up to a major Games.
Work experience opportunities
One lucky student is due to create a new Partner Hub for Team GB and its partners, allowing easier access to Team GB documents and branding, and streamlining the process of sharing information.
The University is looking forward to developing an exciting new range of Team GB activities on and off campus over the course of 2021 in the run up to the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The partnership with Team GB includes the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (now postponed until summer 2021), the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This unprecedented partnership is borne out of a synergy between the University’s ambitions and beliefs, and those of Team GB.