Maarten Nouwen

Please tell us about your career path since leaving
Northumbria

In the first instance I applied for several jobs around Europe. After a few small
jobs I was contacted by the Netherlands Table Tennis Association to become a project member of the sport for all campaigns during the World Table Tennis Championships. After the event they approached me about a marketing role within their organisation.

Please tell us about your current role and what it involves

Currently I’m responsible for the marketing of our organisation. Lately
we have developed several new products like company table tennis and Table Stars. I’ve been involved with, the process from strategy to implementation. As we are an Olympic sport, our players participated at the Olympics in London 2012. I was the contact for our National Olympic Committee for non-sportive activities.

What appealed to you about your course?

Coming from Holland, the international aspect and having a broader perspective than the UK and the Netherlands were things I was
looking for. Newcastle is a great city for students. Northumbria University is centrally placed, has a great campus and also has brilliant sports facilities.

What did you like most about your course?

I liked the field trip to Lausanne. Next to that I loved working with the students in my class. Due to the diversity of backgrounds we had many discussions about perceptions and thoughts on sport management. This helped me to create a broader view.

How would you describe Northumbria as a place to
study?

The student facilities are good. The library is open 24/7, staff are friendly and the access to the sport management literature is excellent. Everything is close to each other; getting a coffee at the Students’ Union, studying at the library, doing sports in the University’s sports centre, even going back home when you’re living at the campus is possible within five minutes from each other.

What advice would you give someone thinking about studying at Northumbria?

Have a look at what you want to gain from the course and your student
time. If this involves an international character, theory combined with practise and living on campus with friends and facilities close, than Northumbria University could be
for you.