The 2023 and 2024 Sports Business MBA classes met in Kaunas, Lithuania for their fourth and second in-person sessions, respectively. The MBA candidates received a warm welcome from Vytautas Magnus University's Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management, Rita Bendaraviciene, and then went for a walk around the brand-new university campus, which includes state-of-the-art classrooms and libraries located in the heart of the city center.
Two Sports Business MBA classes gathered for one more week
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The 2024 class listened to presentations from the Lithuanian National Sports Agency Director, the Sports Department Directors of Kaunas and Vilnius Municipalities and the Head of eSports and Gaming at Lithuanian Football Federation, while they also participated in a Q&A session with EB Institute Alumni and the Executive Director of the Lithuanian Basketball League.
The students also presented their midterm papers under the supervision of the module leaders and heard the first lectures of the upcoming modules, namely in the areas of Sports Management, Sports Economics and Finance and Sports Law and Governance.
Zalgiris Kaunas and its president, Paulius Motiejunas, once again opened their doors for the Sports Business MBA students, who had the chance to listen to the club’s senior management and a take a behind-the-scenes tour of one of Europe’s best basketball arenas.
With the 2023 class already present, both groups visited the recently built Olympic swimming pool and several sports facilities in Kaunas, before ending the day with a friendly basketball tournament at the university’s sports center, where the students played together with a group of wheelchair basketball players and learned about the general rules and characteristics of the sport.
For the class of 2023, it was also the culmination of a unique learning experience, where they defended their final master's thesis in front of a commission. After successfully graduating, the students collected their caps and gowns for the graduation ceremony in the Zalgirio Arena amphitheater, where they received their respective diplomas.
Vincenzo Di Giuseppe, from Italy, was feeling grateful after the graduation ceremony: “I’m really happy right now! I’m feeling that I’m terminating a long journey. It has been tough, hard, but it has been a great experience! I would do it again 100 times over.”
Spaniard Javier Barcala was already looking ahead to his future: “Now with this MBA, I have more knowledge in the industry and a great network of professors, speakers and colleagues, so that will be very useful for my future career."
While Gabriel Hoyos, from the United Kingdom, shared his best moments from the 2022 edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four: “It was my first Final Four, which was coincidently my first EuroLeague game that I’ve actually been able to attend in person. It was incredible! Anadolu Efes Istanbul lifted the trophy, although I’m a Real Madrid fan, so that hurt a little bit. But it was a great experience overall, spent with great friends. I’ll take that memory with me for the rest of my life!”