Every semester, hundreds of enthusiastic students from all over the world walk through EU Business School’s campus doors for the first time. Eager to rise to the challenge, our future leaders are also keen to immerse themselves in our vibrant campus culture. Once settled in, and away from hands-on experiential learning and classroom theory, there’s another important part of campus life which we encourage our students to commit to just as much – Sports.
Any type of activity that contributes to physical fitness, mental well-being and social interaction can be categorized as sports. The physical component is particularly important to our business students since being active can enhance memory, improve concentration and is conducive to creativity. The importance of creativity in leadership roles has also been highlighted in Dreams and Details, a business management book written by two of our past guest speakers, Jim Hagemann Snabe, Europe’s top industrialist, and former Danish national volleyball coach, Mikael Trolle.
Diversity and Equality in Sports
At EU, our players are international students who are not only looking to be physically active or to have fun but also aim to be a part of a dynamic and multicultural community. Bringing students together from various backgrounds helps not only to break down cultural barriers but strengthens lifelong bonds. A teammate might also be a classmate and down the line, maybe even a workmate. By then, after strategizing together on the field or for a case study, a student already may have built up enough cross-cultural knowledge and relationship capital to ensure successful future collaborations. After all, your network is your net worth, and nurturing contacts can be done on the field as much as off.
We all took the lead playing our positions. This brought us together even more as a team. We hope for many other great seasons and a lot of fun!
EU Business School participates in several sports programs. In Barcelona, it takes part in an inter-university sports initiative. We cultivate a sense of belonging by offering soccer, volleyball and tennis. Plus, we have over 100 student participants practicing regularly and competing against other institutes. Our high performers during games also go on to become high performers in the ever-changing globalized business world.
As the saying goes, ‘the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory’, and our men’s soccer team surely lived up to this saying by winning the International Students Cup for the second year in a row.
“We knew our limitations and that is why we excelled and played as a united and well-connected team,” says Thiago, the captain who embodied true leadership and a winning team spirit. “Playing in Barcelona with the school I’m studying at, and in the end, having the joy of being champions and of being part of the school’s history, is an honor!”
At the EuroESADE tournament our basketball and volleyball teams also competed against other international business schools. The EU men’s basketball team clinched a hard-fought victory, but it was the women’s volleyball team who played their hearts out. Both teams were awarded 2nd place.
“After months of training we showed outstanding performance not only during the games but also in keeping the spirit of the team up,” says Meriam, a key player on the women’s volleyball team who exemplified great work ethic and perseverance. “We all took the lead playing our positions. This brought us together even more as a team. We hope for many other great seasons and a lot of fun!”
Sports and Leisure Activities: Live the EU Experience
At EU Business School, we also offer other great activities and excursions. For winter-lovers, we organize snowshoeing and skiing trips to Andorra; for sun-worshippers looking to sweat it out – marathon running and boxing at La Barceloneta beach. In the past, we’ve also gone to Montserrat for hiking; Sitges and Vilanova for Carnival; and Valencia for Las Fallas.
Sports will always hold a revered place in the hearts of EU students. Nelson Mandela once said that “sport has the power to change the world.” At EU, where we come together on the field from all over the world, this mindset doesn’t stop when the whistle blows and the game is called – it’s taken with us to the classroom all the way to the boardroom – win or lose, rain or shine.
You can follow EU Business School’s Sports Team on Instagram or if you’re looking to explore sports as a profession, have a look at our sports management programs.
