A group of UCFB and GIS alumni spent some time down under over the summer, attending the extraordinary 2023 GIS Melbourne Global Sports Summit.

The summit, based at our Melbourne Campus, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, was our fourth summit of 2023, after trips to Miami, New York City and Toronto.

While in Australia, the students had exclusive behind-the-scenes access to such sporting venues as the Australian Sport Technologies Network (ASTN) Centre of Excellence and Cricket Victoria, in addition to the MCG.

Speaking about Melbourne Cricket Ground, one of our students said: “It’s a really cool arena, a really cool place to based at for a week.”

Another student added: “It was great to have a tour of the stadium as well, just to see how much history is here, and it was really interesting to go to the different areas of the stadium. It’s amazing to be here for a week.”

Like with any GIS summit, networking is key, with this summit focusing on growing the students’ network with executives and professionals across the Australian sports industry.

During the week in Victoria, the GIS students listened to such guest speakers as:

  • Glenn Warry – CEO of Football Coaches Australia
  • Josh Eltringham – General Manager of Events Services at Melbourne Cricket Club
  • Andrew Abbott – Chief of Culture and Ceremonies for the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee

Another of the speakers was David Hebblewhite, head of commercial at Rugby Australia, who said: “I think it’s great for the Global Institute of Sport’s students to be able to meet different people from different sports around Australia.

“I think Australia is a unique sporting market, and to hear from people from teams and industries will be a great benefit to the students.”

In addition to the usual guest speakers and networking, this summit included a panel discussion on the FIFA Women’s World Cup, taking place at the time of the summit in Australia and New Zealand.

Dr Deidre Anderson, an elite athlete transition specialist, said afterwards: “The event was unique. To see female coaches and males that want to participate in making this game even greater for females was quite enriching.”

That was not the only involvement the summit had with the 2023 Women’s World Cup, with the group stage match between Germany and Morocco being just one of the live sporting events our students attended on the visit.

The students also got to see Richmond v Hawthorn in the AFL at Melbourne Cricket Ground, as well as watching the National Rugby League fixture between Melbourne Storm and Paramatta Eels at Marvel Stadium.

The last live fixture was a clash of the titans, watching arch rivals Australia and New Zealand rugby union teams face off at the MCG in the Bledisloe Cup.

To find out more about the annual GIS global summits at our campuses and global hubs in North America and Oceania, click here.

Alternatively, click here to download a GIS prospectus and find out where one of our incredible courses could take you and your sports industry career.