University of Ottawa to offer Olympic-supported Masters program

The University of Ottawa campus is quiet, Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in Ottawa. The federal government announced funding for post-secondary students affected by Covid-19. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The University of Ottawa says its Telfer School of Management will be hosting a new Masters program supported by the International Olympic Committee, becoming the first university outside of Europe to do so.

The Executive Masters in Sport Organization Management program (MEMOS) is aimed at professionals working in the Olympic Movement in national sporting bodies and organizations, helping them "develop the knowledge required to better manage their organizations." It has programs in English, French and Spanish, and a uOttawa professor is the director of the English program.

"When the decision was made to look beyond Europe for a MEMOS host, Telfer and uOttawa became a very attractive option since the university is bilingual," Stéphane Brutus, Dean of the Telfer School of Management, said in a news release. "The fact that we are situated in the nation's capital and that two of our strategic pillars aim to achieve a happier and healthier Canada was an advantage to us, as was the fact that Telfer is a world-class business school."

The program will be led by Professor Milena Parent, who specializes in sport (event) governance and strategy at Telfer and is cross-appointed to the School of Human Kinetics at the Faculty of Health Sciences. She is MEMOS first female director.

"Parent's expertise is a natural fit, with her academic research and work focusing on organization theory and strategic management, primarily in the context of major sports events like the Olympic Games. Her work also includes the study of governance and the management of the relationships between organizing committees and their various stakeholders," the university said.

"Olympic Solidarity, the sport development and education commission of the IOC, was keen to work with us, which was a feather in our cap," Parent said in the release. "The MEMOS professors voted for it, but Olympic Solidarity was important to the program coming to Telfer."

Parent tells CTV News Ottawa the program has 38 students this year, after receiving more than 80 applications. Applicants go through their respective Olympic committees and often receive scholarships. One aspect of the program is a research project identifying a problem within the student's respective committee and proposing solutions and an action plan. Some independent applications are also accepted. National bodies are limited to submitting one candidature per country.

There are no classes in Ottawa. Courses take place all over the world, Parent says. This year's program begins in Greece and also includes learning in Morocco, Cyprus and Switzerland.

The MEMOS executive master's degree will debut this fall.