(L-R) Back row: Players Hoskins Sotutu, Dalton Papalii, MIT students Zac Moulder, Kameli Delana, School of Sport lecturer Fran Serrano, Blues personal development manager Victoria Hood, School of Sport head of practice Michelle Parsons and Blues GM High Performance Tony Hanks.
Front row: Blues CEO Michael Redman and MIT EGM-Academic Prof Martin Carroll.
20 February 2019
No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.
That’s the culture Manukau Institute of Technology’s School of Sport lives by and the approach MIT is taking into its new partnership with the Blues.
“At tertiary level, there’s no one forcing you to turn up every day. We want to make learning so applied and so enjoyable that they don’t want to miss out,” says School of Sport, head of practice, Michelle Parsons.
The Blues and MIT share a common kaupapa of helping young people achieve their goals and aspirations on and off the sports field.
We focus on the whole individual – where they are from and where they want to go.
That’s why this new sponsorship arrangement is so exciting.
It allows Super Rugby and Academy players to access educational and career pathways, while MIT students will be exposed to a high performance sports organisation that competes on the global stage.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with MIT as our exclusive tertiary provider” says Michael Redman, Chief Executive of the Blues. “MIT is a major tertiary organisation in Auckland with a wide range of programmes and we’re excited about the future learning and development opportunities for participants from both organisations”.
“The players are role models. A lot of them are from South Auckland. They are good men, who have made it. We look forward to bringing them to campus and sharing their stories with our students to inspire,” says Executive General Manager, Academic – Professor Martin Carroll who signed the agreement at training before the season opener against the Crusaders.
The deal was only signed last week but you would have noticed MIT’s logo on the field during that game and players have already signed up to study the Bachelor of Applied Sport and Exercise, the school’s Police Prep and trades courses.
“If you want to work in the industry, it (Blues HQ) is the perfect environment to be part of, ‘ says Kameli Delana, after touring the facility. He will graduate this year from MIT’s sports degree programme,.
‘With the new building and equipment it’s up to date with strength and conditioning. It’s very much athlete-focused with the admin and players in the same place. MIT graduates would be lucky to be part of that environment,” says Delana who coaches at the University Club and is currently doing post grad.
The official launch of the partnership will happen next month, aligned with the Blues Captain’s Run at Eden Park, before their home match against the Highlanders
Email:
