The University of Hull and Team GB have announced they will renew their successful partnership for a further four years.
This new agreement between the University and the nation’s best-loved sports team will span the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The partnership first launched in 2019, creating a range of valuable opportunities for University of Hull students, staff and the wider Hull community. This has included visits to University events from Olympic medallists like Max Whitlock OBE and Dame Laura Kenny, opportunities for families across Hull to meet and learn from Olympians, and a range of volunteering, joint research projects and internships with Team GB.
Professor Dave Petley, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Hull, said:
“We are proud to have been the official university partner of Team GB since 2019 and I’m thrilled we will continue with this extraordinary partnership until 2028.
“The partnership reflects our shared belief that with hard work, the right opportunities and the support of a dedicated team, we can all achieve extraordinary things.
Tim Ellerton, Commercial Director at Team GB, said: “The University of Hull have been an incredible source of support to us at Team GB since coming on board back in 2019. We are delighted to be extending our partnership for a further four years.
“We have seen extensive benefits from our joint research and enterprise projects to date, and we are excited to see what more can be achieved in the next stage of our partnership. In particular, our focus as an organisation is on becoming more environmentally sustainable, and with the University’s expertise in this area, we are confident that they will continue to be a valuable and supportive partner for Team GB.”
Other partnership activity to date has included the launch of the University’s 360 degree digital technology to help athletes prepare for the environment in Tokyo. A series of 360 videos were created to capture the spaces where athletes would train, eat, rest and socialise during the competition, allowing them to become familiar with the facilities in advance and adapt quickly to their surroundings on their arrival. The technology now forms an important part of Team GB’s athlete education programme to help athletes get ‘Games ready’.
Students and academics have also contributed to a range of research projects for Team GB ahead of Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, with the University offering PhD scholarships to support Team GB with vital work in areas such as sustainability and carbon mapping.
There’s also been a series of Team GB appearances where athletes have shared their personal goal setting and medal-winning experiences with students.
The University’s partnership with Team GB will continue until 2028.
More details about the partnership so far can be found at hull.ac.uk/team-gb.