Thursday 18 February 2016, Lausanne, Switzerland – The AISTS, one of the world’s leading sports administration academies, has announced it will move from its current location at the EPFL campus to a newly planned building, anticipated as the future centre of international sport education and research in Switzerland.
Coined ‘Synathlon’, the State of Vaud-led initiative will form part of the international sports corridor; bringing the AISTS in closer proximity to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and the Maison du Sport International, home to over 50 international sports federations and organisations.
Along with the AISTS, the new centre will host the headquarters for the International University Sports Federation (FISU), the Institute of Sports Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL) and ThinkSport, the Cluster Secretariat of International Sport.
The CHF 27 million construction will provide the AISTS with access to a shared 200-seat auditorium, four classrooms, a dedicated library, meeting spaces, and potential for a sports laboratory. It will also bring the AISTS closer to the University sports centre.
“This represents a new chapter in AISTS’s history,” says Dr Claude Stricker, Executive Director of the AISTS. “Acquiring our own space truly embeds us within the Olympic Capital, it demonstrates our investment in the future of sports education and research in the region, and forges even greater ties with the surrounding sport administration bodies.”
Projected to be completed in under two years, the AISTS is expected to take up residence in the fall of 2017. An official ceremony to lay the foundation stone is planned in April 2016 during the annual SportAccord Convention in Lausanne.
An exclusive presentation of the building by the Canton of Vaud’s Chief Executive Director of Real Estate Development and Management, Mr Philippe Pont, will be made tonight at the AISTS MSA graduation ceremony at the Olympic Museum.
The AISTS has been based at the EPFL campus since it was first established 13 years ago. The EPFL will remain an integral part of the AISTS, including as a co-signer of the AISTS Master of Sports Administration.
For more information, please contact Marketing & Communications Manager, Ms Thuy Khuc-Bilon on +41 (0)21 693 85 92 or at thuy.khuc-bilon@aists.org.
Images below Copyright 2016 Karamuk Kuo Architekten. Courtesy of the Canton of Vaud.
About the AISTS
The AISTS (International Academy of Sports Science and Technology), one of the world’s premier Sports Management education and research academies, is committed to professionalising sports management through the three core activity areas of continuing education, applied research and providing an engaging platform for industry connections.
Founded as a not-for-profit foundation in 2000, AISTS Founding Members: the International Olympic Committee, the EPFL, the University of Lausanne, the University of Geneva, IMD Business School, Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, the City of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud, all recognise the importance of meeting the evolving knowledge needs of today’s sports managers.