The concept of the RIOU was agreed during Beijing 2008, its first students will take part in workshops ahead of London 2012 and will graduate in time to work at Russia’s first Winter Games in 2014.

Each year, the University will have an intake of approximately 1,000 students, 205 of whom will be students from National Olympic Committees and will receive scholarships. The RIOU will have three faculties; international relations in sport, communications in sport, and international management in sport and entertainment.

The teaching staff at the RIOU are expected to be both internationally renowned sports experts and leading Russian academics – including several from Sochi and the Krasnodar Region. In the first phase of its operation, the teaching staff will be approximately 40-50 academics.

At the ceremony to mark the start of construction, a time capsule including a letter to future generations of graduates about the spirit of Olympic and Paralympic Games was laid in the foundations of the RIOU.

Jacques Rogge, IOC President, said: “The RIOU will be a fantastic flagship for all the educational projects and programmes of Sochi 2014. I am fully convinced that this university will be one of the main elements of Sochi’s legacy and that it will help to spread the Olympic spirit through the work of all of the students that attend this Olympic centre of learning.”

Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014, said: “Once constructed, the RIOU will play a major role in delivering a legacy for future generations that Sochi 2014 is committed to providing. The RIOU will be a unique institution that combines world-leading education in sports management with a commitment to promote the ideals of Olympism.”

The Olympic Park Legacy Company is overseeing the transformation of the Olympic Park site in London and plans may include an education facility similar to the one in Sochi.