The Sports Tech Research Podcast is an initiative of STRN to share insights from academic experts and industry leaders. During the first 10 episodes, we have spoken to a variety of guests providing great insights into their work and ambitions regarding university-industry interaction. This article summarizes these 10 episodes to give a broad overview of the topics discussed. You can jump into each episode as you prefer. Of course, please do not hesitate to share your feedback about the podcast episodes or suggest interesting podcast guests in a short message.
Overview of the STRP episodes
Episode 10: Finding the best way to create new sports tech products & services Featuring Kim Blair
Kim is one of the most experienced people in the sports engineering & technology area worldwide. He has worked for many organizations including NASA, MIT, and various consultancy companies, such as Cooper Perkins, where he is working again now. He's also a Board member of ISEA (International Sports Engineering Association). Given his extensive experience and reputation in both academia & industry, it was an honor to speak with him about the past and future of sports tech and how R&D in our sector can, could, or should be organized nowadays. Happy listening!
Episode 9: Creating a successful sports wearable tech spinout Featuring Martin O'Reilly
Martin calls himself 'a passionate sports-wearables and analytics entrepreneur and researcher'. And he is! As a CEO & Co-Founder at Output Sports, which is a spinout of the University College Dublin in Ireland, Martin and his team went through an exciting journey from academic research to a sports wearable company in the market, focusing on physical therapists, strength & conditioning coaches and sports scientists. We talked about the Ph.D. research behind, the financial and mentoring support to realize the spinout, the process they went through, and of course, the continued interaction between the company, academia, sports, government, user, etc. in the framework of holistic problem-solving. Enjoy listening!
Episode 8: Sports Innovation from theory to practice Featuring Patrick Burge
Working for Progressive Sports Technologies and many other organizations, Patrick Burge has broad experience in topics as Innovation. Strategy. Startup and Scale-up Financing, etc. Supported by his dog Suzy (the first dog on the podcast 😀), Patrick is skilled in connecting the dots, asking the right questions, composing the best possible teams, etc. in order to make innovations happen. We talked about his vision on the role of academia in a commercial setting, the type of technologies most relevant in the next couple of years, and his favorite sports technology products to keep in shape himself. As always, hope you enjoy it (& don't forget to leave a comment).
Episode 7: Research & Innovation in the Sports Management and Technology area Featuring Adam Karg
Working in the Sport Innovation Research group at the Swinburne University of Technology (Australia), Adam Karg is closely involved in various research projects in collaboration with industry, As a result, Adam is innovating in various areas of sports organization management, fan engagement, team & league marketing, etc. with the help of (his) research. Besides that, he is also the President of SMAANZ (The Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand) where he shares relevant insights within the research community. And so, we talked about strategies to increase the quality and impact of sports management and technology research relevant in various domains of the sports sector. Enjoy listening!
Episode 6: Wearables & analytics in digital health, sport and physical activity Featuring Jeroen Stragier
Being a Senior researcher at Ghent University in the research group for Media, Innovation and Communication Technologies, Jeroen Stragier has worked on various aspects as motivational affordances of Online Fitness Community features, the use of Wearables, Mobile apps, and Exergames in promoting physical activity, and the potential of new Media and Persuasive technologies to induce Behavioral change towards healthier and more sustainable lifestyles. In this episode, we discussed pros and cons of academic research in this field in relation to technological advancements and commercialization in the industry and the potential for innovation in this area. As always: happy listening and looking forward to your feedback!
Episode 5: Studying the Sports Innovation Ecosystem Featuring Benjamin Kinsky
What's the status quo of sports innovation ecosystems, from both a theoretical and practical perspective? Benjamin Kinsky (Bundeswehr University Munich) is making his Ph.D. on this interesting topic. We talked about the daily business in sports and why teams or leagues would/should focus on creating innovative products, services, and processes, despite their limited time and financial resources. What are the gaps, where are the opportunities lying and how could more of the theory be implemented in the real world? Happy listening!
Episode 4: Starting, growing & selling a university (student) FitTech startup Featuring Georgi Khubua
In order to have student sports entrepreneurship flourish, it helps to have some good practices and examples. Giorgi Khubua and his team created one with their smart mirror solution called Solos. The story started at the Technical University of Munich in 2016 and after winning prizes and attracting investments, the team recently sold the startup to a larger fitness company. In this episode, we talked about the technical & go-to-market challenges, the role of university startup programs, and the mindset needed to be successful within the fitness sector. His favorite product (besides his own mirror): Peloton.
Episode 3: The ins & outs of Research & Innovation at Puma Featuring Jack Goodloe-Haßmann
Jack Goodloe-Haßmann, Senior Manager Consumer Insights at Puma (at the time we spoke), explains his approach and vision within the Puma R&D process. We discussed the interaction between physical (material) versus sensor and digital innovations and the role of academic research for a company like Puma. Also: what will the future for Puma bring? Enjoy this podcast!
Episode 2: The role of research in youth sports talent identification Featuring Lode Goossens
During this episode of the podcast, Lode Goossens talks about the transition from the Ghent University spin-off SpartaNova to the re-start of the company under the name 'Hylyght'. We talked about the state-of-the-art in the sports talent identification research area, and the opportunities for automation using smart testing devices and machine learning models, creating purpose build algorithms & insights to be used by federations, clubs, etc. Enjoy!
Episode 1: Bridging the gap between research & the sports world through data Featuring Ted Hayduk
During this podcast episode, Ted Hayduk, Assistant Professor at the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport (New York University) discusses his research in the areas of sports entrepreneurship & innovation and the role of data analytics within it. Prof. Hayduk elaborates on how to bridge the gap between (his) research and the sports world. We also discussed some parts of his recently published book titled 'Statistical Modelling and Sports Business Analytics’. Enjoy this episode!
To further realize our ambitions with STRN in general and the Sports Tech Research Podcast in particular, we’re looking for people or initiatives who want to get involved and support us. Don’t hesitate to join our LinkedIn group and/or Contact Us.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you soon!
PS: check out the 11th episode on the podcast's Anchor page (& add Sports Tech Research Podcast on your favorite channel).
