IIM Shillong initiates talk on sports development

Shillong, November 4 (Agencies): IIM Shillong through the Centre for Development of North Eastern Region (CEDNER) organized a half day Stakeholders Discussion on “Effective Sports Management: A Catalyst for Performance” in the institute campus on November 4. Key office bearers from all the Sports Associations in Meghalaya participated in the discussion.
Welcoming the participants, Prof. Ashoke K Dutta, Director of IIM Shillong, highlighted this event as a part of the institute’s ongoing concern for the development of the North East as already initiated under its Centre for Development of North Eastern Region (CEDNER).He proposed a business model for Sports development and management for gainful employment generation in the state of Meghalaya.
During the introductory remark, Prof AK Dutta enunciated the progress of sporting activities in Meghalaya while observing that despite the abundance of talent available there was still much room for professionalizing various fields and disciplines of sporting activities, stressing on the need of elements such as responsibilities and mandate, structure and organization, processes and information, and performance assessment and accountability to be realized as an interactive and interconnected system within the different organizations.
The highlight of the discussion was a live video conference with Prof Douglas Michele Turco of Drexel University, USA, an expert in the field of sports management and research and development who spoke on Sport Research and Development as a winning proposition. Incidentally, Prof Turco has been involved with the Commonwealth Games, US Open Golf Championship, FIFA World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup and a host of other global sporting events.
Prof. Turco has been associated with IIM Shillong’s pioneering initiative on Sports Management and has made several visits to the North East before. In his presentation he highlighted the importance of collaborative academic research in this regard identifying multiple research areas like Market Research, Feasibility Studies etc through tie ups between sports associations and academic institutions. “This way the sports manager gets much better equipped to assess market potential and develop new products and services.”
Prof. Turco was highly optimistic about the potential of Sports assets in the North East and suggested development of off- mainstream sports events for the North East in due consideration of her bountiful natural resources. This was followed by an engaging online discussion between him and the participants covering multiple levels of the associations from the grass root to the top.
Attended by leaders of various sporting federations and associations of Meghalaya, the one day meet was well appreciated for providing thought provoking dimensions towards sports and the possible research and developmental aspects, which could boost the functioning of the different sporting bodies.
Joe Marwein and Ian Khongmen of the Meghalaya Swimming Association felt, “that IIM Shillong must continue taking the agenda forward. While we know that there are problems, IIM Shillong can share its expertise through its on ground commitment to help make a difference.”
Naba Bhattacharya, representing the Meghalaya Cricket Association and who was actively involved in roping the participants opined, “It is time various bodies meet regularly and come up with a unified solutions to a unified problems. It is nice to know that we can bank upon the IIM to look for expert advice, and bring in a palpable change in the scenario of sports development”
Lorenzo Warjri of the Meghalaya Judo Association while lauding the initiative taken by IIM Shillong observed that “though short, the program was full of learning. We need to remain committed and IIM S can be the driving force.”
The session concluded with identification of the role of IIM Shillong in this venture by way of exploring future possibilities of imparting training to the members of the associations around areas like skills enhancement, funds mobilization and management, and event management. The session was conducted by Prof. Sanjoy Mukherjee of IIM Shillong.