Sports Technology Education at Mid Sweden University

Abstract

In present paper we would like to share some experiences of building new education in Sports Technology at Mid Sweden University and the results of 10 years of successfully running it in Östersund. The Sports Technology education at Mid Sweden University started at Campus Östersund in 2003 as a part of the curriculum of the Engineering Department. This specialization was initially at the three-year Bachelor level, and later it was extended to an additional two-year Master level. Aiming at the quality of Sports Technology education, three keystones are underlying its process, representing the solid knowledge base, capacity to be flexible in problem solving and the use an innovative approaches. The Department unites researches with a background in both natural sciences and engineering disciplines, having a wide experience of working with and within the industry, equally active in research and teaching. The unique constellation of the profiles forming the Department include not only the SportsTech® group, being “the backbone”, but also the Ecology and Eco-technology, and Quality Technology groups bringing the excellence and extra competence needed to assure the quality of the Sports Technology education. We were the first higher education institution in Sweden to give this kind of education program and now some other Swedish Universities have followed us. Our success can be measured by a number of graduates taking good jobs in the industry. We also enjoy a steady flow of new students coming from all parts of Sweden, and Sports Technology education stays among the most desirable ones in the country.