6th Bayreuth Sports Talks a Success

For the alumni club Sportökonomie, 2020 began with a real highlight - the sixth Bayreuth Sports Talks. The speakers were Tobias Gröber (Executive Director, Messe München), Benno Ruwe (Head of Partnerships, FC Bayern Munich LLC) and Dominik Scholler (Head of Audiovisual Rights International, Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH). The renowned panel of experts dealt with the questions on the topic 'Spökos go global: opportunities, challenges, and trends in an international context'. The stimulating talks and discussions were moderated by Prof. Dr. Tim Ströbel, who has been Professor of Marketing & Sports Management at the University of Bayreuth since January 2020.

After Markus Buser, Alumni Director, opened the event, Prof. Dr. Tim Ströbel gave interesting insights into internationalization from an academic perspective. He emphasized that sports management in the university context has been exposed to constantly increasing internationalization pressure in recent years. The University of Bayreuth, a pioneer in Germany in offering a course in Sport, Business & Law since 1985, has followed this development and has now been offering a 'double degree' for two years, which allows bachelor’s students to study both in Bayreuth and at Ohio University, thereby earning a double degree in four years.

In his keynote speech, Tobias Gröber gave insights into the extent to which the topic of internationalization has become more relevant in practice in recent years. He sees a close connection with digitization, which has accelerated the exchange of information and has led to stronger global networking. His conclusion: Digitization is driving globalization.

In the subsequent panel discussion, the topics of expansion into new markets, the role of digitization in internationalization, and the increase in international competition were discussed from both a club and league perspective. Participants also discussed challenges of internationalization, such as dealing with other (fan) cultures. Finally, the three podium participants had a few tips for the ca. 150 students in attendance on how they can prepare themselves for the demands of the international labour market during their studies.

Alumni board with new members
Our long-standing board member Dr. Maximilian Stieler decided to resign from the board after six years due to a change of job and place of residence. We thank him very much for all that he has done, his dedication, and the profound knowledge he has passed on to the current board of directors!

As successor to Dr. Maximilian Stieler, Jan Schönberner has been supporting the board of the alumni club since December 2019. Jan Schönberner has been working as a graduate assistant / doctoral candidate in the research group of Marketing & Service Management since 2016 and is primarily concerned with sponsorship and engagement platforms in sports. "When I was asked if I would like to take on a board position with the alumni club, the decision was immediately clear to me. I am convinced that the alumni club is an important platform for the preservation and promotion of what makes us Spökos: sticking together and maintaining a lively network. Since I have personally benefited from membership in the alumni club, I would like to give something back to the network in my function as a board member," explains Jan Schönberner. We wish him much success in his work as a board member of our alumni club!