Angad Marwah
Strength and Conditioning Specialist, High Performance Sport NZ
Master of Sport and Exercise
Bachelor of Sport and Recreation in Physical Activity and Nutrition, and Sport and Exercise Science
He has always had a love of sport, says Angad Marwah who came to AUT to study a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation, followed by a Master of Sport and Exercise.
“I always knew that I wanted to work in sports, whether it be directly working with athletes or working in a sporting organisation. I had initially studied business prior to starting my studies at AUT, and it’s safe to say that the move to AUT and studying sport has been life-changing for me. Studying what I’m passionate about really made a huge difference. Once I had a goal in mind, I then worked backwards from where I wanted to be and what qualifications I needed to get to my dream job.”
Angad has now achieved his dream, and loves working as a strength and conditioning specialist for High Performance Sport NZ.
“In this role, I work across different sports, including athletics, sailing, hockey and trampoline. I love that each day is different and that I get to work with multiple athletes and teams in the same week; sometimes even the same day. I enjoy being in a role where I keep learning every day, and I love the fact that I’m in a position to help athletes be the best in the world.”
An enjoyable postgraduate journey
Once he had started his journey towards a career in sport and recreation, postgraduate study was only a matter of time for Angad.
“For me, the question of completing a master’s degree wasn’t ‘if’ but ‘when’. Finishing my master’s degree was a big achievement for me, and I feel very proud. I’m also grateful that AUT made it easy for me to complete my master’s thesis while I was working full-time at High Performance Sport NZ. My supervisors fully understood my time commitments and gave me some flexibility in my study timeline.”
For his research, Angad explored how caffeine affects team sport athletes in hot climates.
“Caffeine is widely used in athletic populations, and I wanted to see whether taking caffeine in hot temperatures would alter athletes’ immune function when athletes travel to hot climates for major sporting events like the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup. I was also interested in the topic because there wasn’t much research available that studied the effects of caffeine on immune function in team sport athletes specifically.”
Angad’s research was supervised by Matt Wood and Dr Deb Dulson from AUT’s School of Sport and Recreation.
Strong links with industry
AUT is well known for its sport and recreation programmes, Angad says.
“AUT has a really good reputation in the sport and recreation community within New Zealand and has also been recognised internationally in the field. The academic staff are world-renowned in their areas, so the opportunity to learn from the best was great. I also loved the strong industry connections AUT has with sporting organisations, and I enjoyed building connections and networks during my time at AUT.”
He would highly recommend AUT’s sport programmes to others.
“In my experience, AUT treats you as an individual rather than just another number. The lecturers and supervisors are more than happy to help and fully support you. The academic staff have good connections with industry organisations and past students, which can be of a huge help when trying to get your foot into the door. You also get to do a lot of practical learning and apply what you learn in an industry setting. That experience is second to none.”
The Physical Activity and Nutrition major is now called Exercise Science and Nutrition.
The Master of Sport and Exercise has been replaced by the Master of Sport, Exercise and Health, which offers a specialisation in Strength and Conditioning.
