Dubai The Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE) and the American University in the Emirates (AUE) have signed a partnership agreement that will help graduate professionals to the world of motorsport. The agreement is a landmark that will set the benchmark for similar partnerships on sustainable development in the field of sports education.
The ATCUAE have a large population of competitors and volunteers and the new agreement will help develop their skills through further academic training. “I believe that there is a big necessity for sports management in the UAE,” said Mohammad Bin Sulayem, President of the ATCUAE and Vice-President of the FIA, the governing body for world motorsport.
“We saw that there was an obvious lack of a curiculum in sports management, something that has been sadly missing. A degree, or diploma will go a long way to helping competitors, volunteers and officials to extend their activity after sport and also promote shared values.
“This is the chance for youngsters to go forward and to take over the sports management and to not limiting it themselves to one sport,” added the 14-time Middle East rally champion driver.
“We have more than 760 volunteers working with the Club and we did a study to assess their impact on the economy and discovered that we are saving Dhs 6.5 million to the government each year.
“This has encouraged us to create new opportunities for them and we will be more than happy to support the AUE through this initiative.
Prof. Muthanna G. Abdul Razzaq. President and CEO of the AUE welcomed the ATCUAE as a partner in the field of sports management.
“We will be offering a 40 percent scholarship discount to a selected group of volunteers from the ATCUAE,” he said. “Our scholarship will not only benefit the students but also the AUE and ATCUAE simultaneously.
“We have agreed to collaborate on research projects and help students build their capacity in the field of motorsports management.
“The ATCUAE in turn has offered to help up by giving practical experience to our students,” he added.
“We want to graduate leaders, not managers, and encourage our students to think outside the box.”
