The UWI and India’s Rajasthan Royals professional cricket team partner to create educational courses

L-R: Project Officer at The UWI Faculty of Sport, Daren Ganga, Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan Royals Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, Dean of The UWI Faculty of Sport and Dr. Rudolph Alleyne, Head of The UWI Cave Hill Academy of Sport.

The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica W.I. Monday, October 9, 2023—In a landmark partnership, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) and India’s Royals Sports Group-owned franchise, Rajasthan Royals have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for both parties to work together to co-create specialised educational courses for budding sports scholars worldwide. 

The MoU signing occurred last month when Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan Royals Chief Executive Officer, visited The UWI Cave Hill Campus in Barbados. Dean of The UWI’s Faculty of Sport, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, signed on behalf of Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles in the presence of the Faculty’s Project Officer, West Indian cricket legend Daren Ganga.

L-R: Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan Royals Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Akshai Mansingh, Dean of The UWI Faculty of Sport.

Since the 2020 inception of the Royals School of Business (RSB), its online platform, which offers educational courses covering 360-degree aspects of the sports industry, the IPL franchise has developed 16 world-class programmes contributing to the development of more than 40,000 scholars and budding present and potential professionals keen on working in the sports industry. This new alliance, combining The UWI’s prestigious university ranking as #1 in the Caribbean and among the top 1.5% in the world, will see the co-creation of an Advanced Sports Nutrition Programme for young athletes and professionals. The programme aims to help participants better understand the vital role nutrition plays in developing and sustaining an athlete’s career.

The course will be designed by industry subject matter experts from both entities and consist of various assignments, assessment tests, and live athlete testimonials to help prepare scholars to excel in sports nutrition.

Jake Lush McCrum, Rajasthan Royals Chief Executive Officer, tours the 3Ws Oval at The UWI Cave Hill Campus.

At the signing ceremony that formalised the agreement, Dr. Akshai Mansingh expressed his excitement to partner in delivering UWI courses to a franchise with a fan base much larger than the West Indian population. He disclosed, “We were able to bring together the best experts across our many faculties at The UWI to produce high-quality programmes, and Advanced Sport Nutrition is hopefully just the start.” He lauded the commitment shown by the franchise in deepening its footprint in the region, noting that scholars have already enrolled in the myriad courses on offer at RSB.

Commenting on the milestone association, Jake Lush McCrum, Chief Executive Officer of the Rajasthan Royals, said, “One of the driving pillars for the Royals School of Business has been the abundant potential for growth that lies within the talent that is either working in or dreams of working in the sports industry. This exciting association with The University of the West Indies comes from the vision of combining the best brains from various parts of the world to create learning modules that impart deep knowledge and live testimonials from professionals to budding individuals. Our presence in the Caribbean through our franchise group has certainly helped connect us with one of the best universities in the world, and we are delighted at the prospect of further contributing to the sports education ecosystem together.”

Professor Clive Landis, Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of The UWI Cave Hill Campus leads Jake Lush McCrum on a tour of the Campus.

Following the MoU signing, The UWI and the Royals School of Business have been finalising the Advanced Sports Nutrition programme and will announce its launch in the next few months.

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