MSc Marketing course director, Dr Damian Gallagher has received a Fulbright Northern Ireland Public Sector Scholar 2013/14, Award - one of the most prestigious and selective scholarship programmes operating in the world.
During 2014, Dr Gallagher will spend five months at the University of South Carolina,building a body of knowledge that will develop and aid current understanding in the area of marketing management in Small Sports Clubs (SSCs) - a key contributor to the socio-economic future of a post-conflict Northern Ireland.
He will be based at theDepartment of Sport and Entertainment Management and will be working alongside the highly-respected professor, Andy Gillentine, PhD.
Commenting on receiving the award, Dr Gallagher said: “I am absolutely delighted and honoured to have been given this opportunity by the US-UK Fulbright Commission.
“Whilst we know a great deal about sport at the top end of the market (thanks to notable research conducted by colleagues at the University of Ulster already), the area of marketing management within Small Sports Clubs is currently under-realised.
“The intended outputs are to develop a new undergraduate module; a textbook for students, academics and practitioners; as well as peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, conference papers and presentations.
“It will also provide the knowledge base and momentum for the development and running of a series of workshop events for those currently involved in managing and administering SSCs.
“It has been a lot of hard work to get this far, but I have had great support from Professor McHugh, Dr McCartan-Quinn and Professor McCoy of the Ulster Business School and from Dr Tony Wall (Ulster Business School & Fulbright Alumnus), who encouraged and helped me greatly throughout the entire application process.”
Dr Gallagher joined the University of Ulster in February 2010 having previously worked at Aberystwyth University, Liverpool Hope University and the University of Gloucestershire.
His teaching and research interests are in the areas of relationship marketing, research methodologies, SME marketing and the marketing of small sports clubs.
He has published widely in leading marketing and small business journals and currently serves as a reviewer for a range of journals.
Caption: Dr Damian Gallagher
Notes for editors/additional information
Created by treaty in 1948, the US-UK Fulbright Commission is the only bi-lateral, transatlantic scholarship programme, offering awards for study or research in any field, at any accredited US or UK University.
The Commission is part of the Fulbright programme conceived bySenator J William Fulbrightin the aftermath of World War II to promote leadership, learning and empathy between nations through educational exchange. Award recipients will be the future leaders for tomorrow and support the ‘special relationship’ between the US and UK.
Nearly 300,000 extraordinary women and men from all over the world have had their lives changed as participants in the Fulbright Programme. Of these alumni, approximately 15,000 UK nationals have studied in the US and 12,000 US nationals in the UK on Fulbright educational exchange programmes.
The Commission is funded partially by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills in the UKand the USDepartment of State, with additional support coming from a variety of individual and institutional partnersincluding many leading UK universities and an annual contribution from the Scottish Government.
For More Information: www.fulbright.org.uk