Executive MBA Scholarship Opportunities at Athlone Institute of Technology now available
The Faculty of Business and Hospitality at Athlone Institute of Technology signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gaelic Players Association and the Women’s Gaelic Players Association on April 18th 2018. The MOUs provide scholarship opportunities for members of both organisations to study the Executive MBA programme at AIT. President of AIT, Professor Ciarán Ó Caithán signed the MOUs in the presence of Mr. Tom Dillon, Chief Executive Officer of the GPA and Dr. Aoife Lane, Chairperson of the WGPA.
Dr. Eoin Langan, Dean of the Faculty of Business and hospitality welcomed the agreement and noted how the aims and objectives of the MBA programme are aligned with the ambition of the GPA and WGPA to support athletes operating in a high-performance environment to maximize their potential through education.
Tom Dillon, GPA CEO added “The GPA is passionate about helping our members to thrive on and off the field of play. We are very proud to be partnering with the AIT on this excellent scholarship programme that will provide some of our talented players with the skills they need to progress their careers. The GPA provides a range of educational and career supports to our members across the country and demand for these programmes has never been greater. The AIT Executive MBA programme is both flexible and practical and ideal for our members to fit around their busy sporting, work and community commitments. It’s a great fit for the GPA and we are proud to be partnered with the team at AIT on this important scholarship programme.”
Dr. Aoife Lane, Chairperson of the WGPA and Head of Department of Sport and Health Science at AIT is excited that this new partnership has been established, saying “AIT represents a fantastic setting for learning for elite athletes in Gaelic games. Athlone is a regional centre that will ensure accessibility for many of our members while also providing state of the art training facilities to support their on-field endeavours.”
The Executive MBA programme is a 2-year part-time offering with classes held on Friday afternoons and the occasional Saturdays, ideally suited to fit around the professional and personal commitments of players.
The programme is delivered by academics with proven experience in both industry and academia, immersing students in a cohesive learning environment that melds theory and practice. Subject areas include Finance, Management, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and Innovation, all rounded off with a Management Consulting Project and a dissertation to consolidate learning. Whilst there is a strong emphasis on academic content, most of the assessments have been designed to ensure currency and relevance, thus ensuring students can apply skills and knowledge learned to their own workplace.
Students on the Executive MBA come from a variety of industries, working for companies that include household-names, in addition to public sector and small, local enterprises. They are generally characterised by having significant experience in the workplace and usually operate in a managerial capacity, with aspirations to progress in their respective organisations.
Further information can be found at www.ait.ie/mba or by contacting Trevor Prendergast, Head of Department on (0906) 471857 or tprendergast@ait.ie.