Former University of Wales Institute Cardiff student Peter Stafford (BSc Sports Coaching and Master of Business Administration) has reconnected with Cardiff Met to offer internships to two masters students in the sports broadcasting programme.
Irish native Stafford and his Canadian business partner Andrew Mitchell operate Mitchell Stafford Management (MSM), a communications and events agency based in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne in Switzerland. MSM counts a number of international sports federations and event organisers as clients, including the European Olympic Committees (EOC), which delivers the European Games every four years.
An opportunity arose for two interns to provide social media coverage during the next edition of the European Games in Minsk, Belarus this June, prompting Stafford to reach out to his alma mater.
Course director Joe Towns said: “I am delighted that this opportunity presented itself, especially from an alumnus. We are always looking for opportunities for our students and this one is surely to be a fantastic experience. We are very grateful to MSM for reaching out to us, it just shows the power and reach of our alumni network.”
Towns worked with Stafford in selecting two students for the project -- Mica Moore and Silvija Zabcic. They will be tasked with generating social media content for the Games alongside the local organising committee, National Olympic Committees and international broadcasters.
On the project, Mica said: “I’m really excited to head out to the European Games as a social media intern this week. I’m so grateful to be involved in such a huge competition, with 4000 athletes there competing in 16 different sports. It’ll be a great opportunity to put everything I’ve learnt this year on my Sports broadcasting MSc into practice.”
Silvija added: "I'm so excited to be part of such a major event, to get the opportunity to work with multiple professional athletes, sport journalists and others who are going to participate in this event. It's an amazing opportunity to gain experience and develop my skills furthermore, all thanks to my course, MSc Sport Broadcasting and the University. It's also amazing that I get the opportunity to travel abroad and explore a new culture while doing what I enjoy."
When asked why he reached out to the university, former athlete Stafford said, “I follow the social media accounts of the university and realised that they were running a sports broadcasting course. Given the work that we are doing, I thought that if there could be an opportunity to do something together, it would be great. I have fond memories of my time at Cardiff Met, or UWIC as it was known at the time, and being able to give something back to the next generation is really special.”
The 2nd European Games Minsk 2019 will take place from 21-30 June. Upwards of 4,000 of Europe’s best athletes will compete in 15 sports at the Games: 3×3 basketball, archery, athletics, badminton, beach soccer, boxing, canoe sprint, cycling, gymnastics, judo, karate, sambo, shooting, table tennis and wrestling. Eight of the 15 sports will act as qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Athletes from all 50 European National Olympic Committees will take part.
To see the content being generated by Mica and Silvija, whose work will be featured from 20-30 June, be sure to follow the EOC’s social media handles:
Instagram @eoc_social
Twitter @EOCmedia
For more information on MSM and the European Games visit:
www.mitchellstafford.com
www.minsk2019.by or www.eurolympic.org
To read this story in Welsh, click here.
