Co-operation between Innsbruck University and the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games

Both the run-up to and, in particular, during the Games-time phase of the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG 2012), which will take place in Innsbruck in January 2012, students have the opportunity to be an active part of a major international sporting event. Whatever the role - be it as an intern at the Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (IYOGOC), as a Volunteer in one of the many operational areas to choose from, as an interpreter at mock conferences about the Youth Olympic Games, or as a translator working on texts for the official YOG website - the Games are a fantastic opportunity to put the theoretical knowledge gained at university into practice as part of an exciting festival of sport and culture for athletes from across the planet. Innsbruck University is the largest and most diverse education institution in Tyrol, making it the perfect partner for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

A whole host of projects will be realised before, during and after the Games. A good example of one such project is the competition which was launched to select a stage design for the Opening Ceremony in January 2012. Moreover, Innsbruck University's sports facilities will also play central role in the co-operation during Games-time.  

The Innsbruck Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee is currently working particularly closely with the following institutes:

- the Institute for Sports Science,
- the Institute for Experimental Architecture, and
- the Institute for Translation and Interpreting.

A university working group comprising the Vice-Rector for Teaching and Student Affairs, Margret Friedrich, Helmut Weichselbaumer from the university's Institute of Sport and Uwe Steger from the Public Relations and Culture Office has been created and will oversee the co-operation.  

YOG 2012 and academia

On 1 October 2010 the project 'Innsbruck 2012 - Youth Olympic Games Laboratory for Youth and Innovation' ('YOGINN 2012') was created at the Institute for Sports Science with the goal of ensuring the sustainability of both the Games themselves and of the academic partnership with the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games. This Laboratory will serve as a platform for launching university projects linked to the organisation of the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck.

However, it is not only Innsbruck University which will benefit from YOGINN 2012 - students and researchers from other universities working on academic subjects linked to the Games will also have a chance to be part of the programme, in line with the common commitment to inter-university co-operation underlined by all further education institutions in the region. In this context, the YOG 2012 offer an excellent opportunity to intensify this co-operation at regional level and raise the international profile of the Tyrol when it comes to education and research.

Please send all enquiries concerning academic projects and/or (BA, MA or PhD) theses to the following e-mail address: yoginn2012@uibk.ac.at .

​The Institute of Sport and Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism (ISAG) and the Institute of Nutritional Sciences at UMIT (Private University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology in Hall/Tyrol) are actively involved in the development of the Youth Olympic Games Competence Project, which deals with topics such as healthy eating for athletes, regeneration, how to avoid injuries and overtraining as well as techniques to handle problems resulting from long-haul flights before competitions, in particular jet lag.

Innsbruck Media College (Medienkolleg Innsbruck)

Short, practice-oriented, intensive – these three words best describe what it’s like to study at Innsbruck Media College.

In only four semesters, students at Innsbruck Media College acquire comprehensive knowledge in the fields of video production, photography and image editing, media design and journalism. “Most courses are taught by practitioners who set great store by practical relevance,” says Manfred Jordan, dean of Innsbruck Media College. “This includes, for example, working on real website projects such as the recent relaunch of www.amras.at, designing posters and brochures, producing video films and up-to-date coverage of events.”

The aim is to train qualified and flexible employees who can take up a range of different positions within a company. “That is why the creative part on the one hand is complemented by courses on business and communication on the other hand,” explains Jordan.
After two years, the students graduate from the Media College, equipped with in-depth knowledge in business languages, on information management, media design and business. By working on real projects, students get a good feel for economic and business issues and learn how to analyse and assess them in a professional manner. They also study controlling, an important instrument in entrepreneurial decision-making processes. In addition, the college also offers practice-oriented training in the fields of communication, presentation and project management.
In order to be admitted to Innsbruck Media College, applicants must have successfully completed secondary education with an academic level equivalent to A-levels.

In recent years, Innsbruck Media College has established a good reputation in the field of multimedia coverage. Among other events, the students provided video coverage for the website of the regional broadcasting agency, tirol.orf.at at, from the Hahnenkammrennen in Kitzbühel, a major alpine ski race event, and from the annual Innsbruck Autumn Trade Fair.

In May, a team from Innsbruck Media College had the chance to take a whiff of the real thing at the German Evangelical Church Congress (Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag) in Dresden. The 60 members of the online editorial team at the Church Congress were in charge of the multimedia coverage of this large-scale event, which comprised approx. 2,200 individual events and was attended by 120,000 visitors. As a special treat, they also had the opportunity to mingle with 1,500 accredited journalists from around the world.
In autumn, the Visio-Tirol careers and education fair will be broadcast live on the internet to a worldwide audience. Apart from filming the stage show, the team will also conduct live interviews in the BeSt³ studio. The reporting team will conclude each day of the fair with a 20-minute live newscast featuring a presenter, interviews and recorded segments. Furthermore, the team will produce a daily newspaper with stories from the fair.

As one of the official Innsbruck 2012 Educational Partners, Innsbruck Media College and its students are already making a major contribution to the media presence of the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games. During the Games, Innsbruck Media College will be closely involved in the multimedia coverage of the event. In addition, media workshops will be organised for the athletes from around the world.


Internet:

Innsbruck Media College
www.medienkolleg.at

German Evangelical Church Congress
www.kirchentag.de

Visio-Tirol
www.visio-tirol.at

Winter Youth Olympic Games
www.innsbruck2012.com




Innsbruck Media College, 1 September 2011
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