ESA WEST
EUROPEAN SAILING FEDERATION
EUROPEAN SAILING ACADEMY
Winter Extension Seminar and Tutoring
(ESA WEST)
This document describes the EUROSAF European Sailing Academy Winter Extension Seminar and Tutoring (ESA WEST) project. Emphasized names need revision to make them descriptive and appealing. Data between [square brackets] is tentative and intended to give an approximation of volume.
Under the umbrella of the EUROSAF European Sailing Academy, the Winter Extension Seminar and Tutoring (ESA WEST) project aims to link four groups of stakeholders together to deliver, in a (win-win)2 framework, high level output in education and knowledge creation focused on sailing. If you want to get the feeling, in a different field, of what the project aims for, watch this short video.
The four groups of stakeholders are:
- Participants, coming from the EUROSAF sailing community and linked to EUROSAF MNAs, acting as trainees and knowledge producers;
- Contributors, experts in their field and linked to higher education institutions, research centres, or the industry, acting as lecturers, trainers, knowledge providers, and research coordinators;
- Sailing-related industry players;
- A hosting institution, a higher education institution (University or Polytechnic School) or an industry leading company active in the marine industry.
In short, players from the four groups of stakeholders meet up for a month, both to deliver and obtain, during late autumn or winter, when sailing activity is lower. What does each player, and the institutions they are linked to, take out and bring in from taking part in the project?
1. Participants
Participants will take out:
- High quality knowledge to extend their education in a wide range of sailing related fields in a short time
- In-depth participation in [four] sailing-related research workshops
- Fruitful collaboration and networking with [29] other participants
- Networking with [20 to 28] contributors
- Networking with [30] industry players
- Outlook of opportunities in sailing related research and industry
- ECTS credits (sanctioned either from workshop output or through an evaluation) or attendance certificate from the hosting institution
- …
They are expected to bring in:
- Passion for sailing, high motivation, and untamed curiosity
- Willingness to work and a good capacity to collaborate
- Eagerness to champion an industry player
- Generosity with their time, knowledge, and experience
- Usual IT tools proficiency
- Ideally, a bachelor’s degree –or higher– or expertise in sailing
- English B2
- …
2. Contributors
Contributors will take out:
- High quality output from sailing-related research workshop directly directed or co-directed by them and from [19] other workshops directed by other contributors
- Collaboration and networking with [30] participants
- Collaboration and networking with [19 to 27] other contributors
- Networking with industry [30] players
- Consulting opportunities in the industry
- Seminar delivery certificate from the hosting institution
- …
They are expected to bring in:
- Passion for sailing, high motivation, and untamed curiosity
- Expertise in sailing-related fields
- Pedagogic and methodological capability
- Sailing-related education and research subjects
- Leadership and direction for highly motivated research groups
- Generosity with their time, knowledge, and experience
- English B2
- …
3. Industry
Industry players will take out:
- Access to highly motivated, hard working, curious, and sailing-passionate players: [30] participants, [20 to 28] contributors, and staff
- High quality output from [20] sailing-related research workshops
- Interaction with [30] participants and [5 to 7] contributors
- Networking with researchers and the hosting institution
- Consulting possibilities from contributors
- Commercial opportunities with all players
- Brand awareness
- Job prospects
- …
They are expected to bring in:
- Passion for sailing and education
- Technical capability in sailing-related fields
- Insider insights
- Sailing-related research subjects
- Sailing-related education needs
- Generosity with their time, knowledge, and experience
- Financial generosity towards one participant (at least) and the ESA WEST project
- …
4. Hosting Institution
The hosting institution will take out:
- Access to highly motivated, hard working, curious, and sailing-passionate players
- Interaction with [30] participants and [20 to 28] contributors
- Networking with [20 to 28] researchers
- Networking with [30] industry players
- Financial contribution [of 10% registration fees plus accommodation and food costs]
- Brand awareness
- …
They are expected to bring in:
- Campus with teaching, meeting, research, printing, internet, accommodation, and food facilities available to all [40 to 45 concurrent] participants and contributors for a month in late autumn or winter
- Organising capability, including a secretariat for registration, check-in and check-out of players…
- ECTS credits (sanctioned either from workshop output or through an evaluation) or attendance certificates to participants
- Seminar delivery certificates to contributors
- …
5. MNAs
EUROSAF Members will take out, inasmuch they take part by sending (at least) one participant:
- Increased capacity and experience
- Contacts with contributors and industry players
- High quality output from [20] sailing-related research projects
- …
They are expected to bring in:
- Sailing-related education needs
- Generosity in time and travel allowance towards their participant(s)
- …
6. Collaborating Universities
EUROSAF is expected to develop a network of collaborating higher education institutions (Universities and Polytechnic Schools). Collaborating institutions will take out, inasmuch they take part by sending (at least) one contributor:
- Increased capacity and experience
- High quality output from sailing-related research projects
- Contacts with other higher education institutions
- Contacts with industry players
- …
They are expected to bring in:
- Sailing-related research and education proposals
- Generosity in time and travel allowance towards their contributor(s)
- …
7. EUROSAF
Through the ESA WEST project EUROSAF will foster sailing-related knowledge and education among its MNAs and develop sailing as a field of study. Incidentally, it will also obtain a financial contribution towards its budget. EUROSAF shall promote the project with its MNAs, higher education institutions, and the industry. It shall publicize and make available the intellectual output generated by the project.
8. Participation Figures
The project targets all 41 EUROSAF MNAs. At launch, a participation figure of [30] seems more realistic. With [30] participants from [30] MNAs, each of the [30] industry players involved, ideally from [30] different European countries, is expected to pay for the registration fees of (at least) one participant, ideally from their own country, if available. This supported participant shall be their on-campus champion. Travel costs shall be borne individually or also covered by the supporting industry player.
A promotion committee shall be established to promote the project towards EUROSAF MNAs and industry players.
Contributors
Contributors shall provide tuition and, alone or in collaboration with another contributor, run one research workshop of [6] participants. [5 to 7] contributors are expected to take part each week, making a total of [20 to 28] contributors. [5] workshops shall be run each week.
A scientific committee shall be established to supervise the selection of contributors, education topics, and research projects.
Participants
Each participant shall take part in [4] workshops (one per week) dealing with [4] different research topics. A high quality output will be expected. Each week the output from the [5] weekly workshops shall be presented to and ranked by all [35 to 37] players. The first ranked workshop output in each week may be presented at the closing ceremony.
The workshop output shall be the intellectual property of the workshop participants, including the contributors(s) directing it, and EUROSAF, and be free to use for further research. Any commercial development shall benefit all property right holders.
An admissions committee shall be established to review participants’ candidacies.
Industry players
Industry players will have access to [30] participants and [5 to 7] contributors for a day, mainly through late afternoon presentations followed by networking dinners. [30] industry players are expected to be involved and contribute towards education, research topics, and finance.
The promotion committee shall also promote the project towards the industry and secure the involvement needed to fund participants.
Other Participants
An influential sailing figure shall be the patron of the class (“le parrain/la marraine de la promotion”): an Olympic medallist, a record winning offshore sailor, or another relevant figure of sailing. They shall deliver the opening address and mingle with participants and contributors during the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony.
9. Schedule
The event shall last [30] days. The first day [Saturday] will be devoted to the opening ceremony, the last day [Sunday] to the closing ceremony with certificate delivery. During each of the intervening [4] weeks, [Monday to Saturday] morning classes from contributors, afternoon research workshops with tight schedules and high expectations, late afternoon presentations from industry players, evening research workshops (continued), and [Saturday] presentation of research workshops results and ranking, meetings with influential sailing figures, [Sunday] visits of sailing-related industry, research, or museum premises, and [as many as possible] sailing-related activities are expected to be conducted.
A tentative schedule is available at the end of this page.
10. Finance
How is the EUROSAF European Sailing Academy Winter Extension Seminar and Tutoring project financed? As a first estimate, registration fees are set to [6,200€] per participant and include tuition, accommodation, meals, and access to campus facilities. [30] participants generate a [186,000€] revenue that will be used to offset the expenses, tentatively listed in the following table.
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Participants | Unit fees | Revenue | |||||||||||||||||||
| Participation fees | 30 | 6,200 | 186,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other revenue | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | 186,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Participants | Days | Unit cost | |||||||||||||||||||
| Accommodation and meals | 47 | 30 | 50 | 70,500 | Participants, experts, and administrators | ||||||||||||||||
| Tuition | 28 | 1,000 | 28,000 | Compensation towards expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Patron expenses | 2,000 | Travel | |||||||||||||||||||
| Premises & Secretariat | 18,600 | 10% of participation fees | |||||||||||||||||||
| Administration | 30,000 | Administration of the project | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | 15,000 | Includes website and social media presence | |||||||||||||||||||
| External audit | 5,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Insurance | 3,000 | Against organization liabilities | |||||||||||||||||||
| EUROSAF fees | 10,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expenses | 3,900 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total expenses | 186,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net result | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| All figures in € | |||||||||||||||||||||
Registration fees may not be the same for all participants; they may differ according to the country of origin, in line with EUROSAF membership fees structure. Total income must be preserved, unless some savings in costs can be generated.
The hosting institution will receive [10%] of registration fees and EUROSAF secured sponsorship, and [50%] of sponsorship directly secured by the institution towards the project.
The ESA WEST project shall be administered by a team of part-time dedicated professionals who shall be remunerated. A legal structure may be set up in a EU jurisdiction to simplify invoicing and tax compliance and to separate the project finances from EUROSAF’s. An external audit shall be conducted.
A dedicated website shall be established to promote the project, to run its administration (registration of participants, call for contributors…), to promote participating industry players and collaborating higher education entities, to publicize research output…
An insurance policy against organization liability shall be contracted.
EUROSAF shall receive a fee.
11. Universities and Research Topics
Sailing-related research is wide-ranging. Some very limited examples of topics studied at just a few universities by alphabetical order around Europe are as follows.
Chalmers University of Technology — Sports and Technology — Sailing
- Computational fluid dynamics
- Numerical tools for performance prediction
- Development of the equipment
- Development of sailing techniques
University of Edinburgh — School of Engineering — Sailing Fluids
- Aerodynamics of sails
- Fluid-structure interaction of sails
- Hydrodynamics of slender hulls
- Tactics for yacht racing
Gdansk University of Technology — Ocean Engineering and Ship Technology
- Weather routing of sailboats
Università Cattolica di Milano
- Dual Career Organization
University of Southampton — Engineering and the Environment
- Hydrodynamics and aerodynamics of sailing craft
- Kite propulsion
- New materials, such as sustainable composites and magnetorheological materials
- Estuarine, marine and coastal ecotoxicology
- Ship design, yacht design, small craft design, naval architecture, marine technology and industrial aerodynamics
- Tank testing, wind tunnel testing, design software, on-board systems
Politecnico di Torino — Geography
- Meteorology applied to sailing sports
Other subjects include:
- Sailing and Sports Medicine
- Sailing Psychology
- Effects of Sleep Deprivation
- Simplifying the Racing Rules of Sailing
- Participation in Sailing
- Robotic Sailing
- …
