Further and Higher Education’s involvement with London 2012 extends far beyond sport to include areas such as skills, culture, business, volunteering, research and innovation.
These opportunities aren’t just for a few London institutions or even just for the 80 universities and colleges with facilities which have been judged suitable for Pre Games Training Camps.
It is Podium’s strongly held belief that every college and university in the country can make their own unique contribution to the Games.
Both the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and the Games’ official education programme, Get Set represent huge opportunities to shed a global spotlight on the role of universities and colleges in the life of the UK and the wider world.
More than half the FE colleges in the UK are registered with Get Set and Podium has already helped several of these institutions to get active by running projects and writing blogs. Many more will be following suit in the coming months.
Podium has also helped numerous FE and HE projects to gain the prestigious Inspire Mark – the logo awarded to non-commercial organisations delivering projects and events genuinely inspired by the London 2012 Games.
One such project is Bridging The Gap. The security and crowd management course involves more than 50 colleges and is scheduled to produce at least 6,000 new recruits for the sector who will be guaranteed a job interview with London 2012. The course has been developed by the Home Office, the British Security Industry Association and Skills for Security as well as universities and colleges.
It’s unique partnerships like this that the Games can create and there will be many more similar ones involving the FE and HE sector - covering all aspects from construction to costumes and volunteering to the VeloPark - between now and the official opening of the 30th Olympic Games on 27 July 2012.
For more information on work and projects related to the 2012 Games taking place near you, go to In your region. If you are attracted by the idea of 2012 Games engagement but unclear of what you can offer, visit the showcase page to see a range of inspirational projects and activities or download a copy of Spotlight.
