The Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, met in Beijing just hours before the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games. During the meeting they agreed to the foundation of the world's first ever Olympic university: the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU), which will be built in Sochi's Olympic Park.

After the meeting, the President and CEO of Sochi 2014, Dmitry Chernyshenko; the President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Leonid Tyagachev; and the IOC administration, signed a three-party memorandum of mutual understanding. The document officially recognizes that the word «Olympic» can be used in the university’s title.

The Russian International Olympic University will prepare specialists of all professions needed by the Olympic Movement and the international sports industry. The university campus will be constructed in 2012; however some studies could start in 2010, to develop a number of high level professionals by the beginning of the Sochi 2014 Test Event Program.

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