One of Britain's most successful athletes will talk to students at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester this week about his new role behind the scenes of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Former triple jumper Jonathan Edwards CBE, who won the gold medal for Britain in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, will address students on the international FIFA Master MA course on Thursday (15 December).

The students - who are a third of the way through an intensive course that will prepare them for a career in the competitive world of sports management - will complete their first term with a week of lectures with an Olympic theme.

And with a former Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World Champion as a guest speaker - whose 1995 jump of 18.29 metres remains the world record - their term is set to end on a high.

"We were delighted when Jonathan Edwards agreed to be the patron of our 2011-12 course," said FIFA Master Co-Scientific Director, Professor Pierre Lanfranchi.

"To have a world champion as our patron in the run-up to the London Olympics has been an added incentive for us to focus academically on all aspects of the games.

"The final week of term will include presentations on the London games' design, infrastructure and facilities, sponsorship issues and the legacy of the games since 1908. 

"There will also be a talk by Professor Denis Oswald, director of the Centre International d'Etude du Sport and chairman of the International Olympic Committee's Co-ordination Commission - and, of course, there will be a session with Jonathan.

"It's a packed programme that will provide a fitting finale to the students' first term."

Also speaking during the week will be three FIFA Master graduates who are already working for top sporting organisations.

Gabriel Andrade, who completed his Masters in 2008, is now the National Olympic Committee Regional Co-ordinator for Africa, Pierre Ducrey - a 2003 graduate - is the Head of Games Co-ordination at the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, and Dan Israel - who graduated in 2005 - is City Operations Manager at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

All three will address the current FIFA Master students, who include the founder of the first women's football team in Palestine, the deputy director of international relations at the Chinese FA and two former Olympic athletes.

Students come from all around the world to do the course, with this year's intake including students from Australia, Guatemala, South Korea, Canada, Bhutan, South Africa and Chile.

David Squires - who has a background in accountancy - is the only student from the UK on this year's course.

"I chose the course as I wanted to change my career - and working in sport has always been my aim," he said.

"It's been excellent so far. For me the best things have been the experiences of my fellow classmates and the talks we have had from industry experts."

The FIFA Master MA - sponsored by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and co-ordinated by the Centre International d'Etude du Sport (CIES) in Switzerland - is one of the most respected sports management programmes in the world.

Students spend their first term at DMU's International Centre for Sports History and Culture (ICSHC), where they study the humanities of sport module.

In January, they begin their second module - sports management - at the SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, Italy.

Their third and final module - sports law - is provided by the Université de Neuchâtel in Switzerland.

Now in its 12th year, the course is always over-subscribed, with fierce competition for just 30 places. Over 90 per cent of its 300+ alumni are now working directly in sport for international organisations including the International Olympic Committee, UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, Adidas, the European Rugby Cup, the Sauber Formula 1 Team, Liverpool FC and FIFA.

Jonathan Edwards is the patron of the 12th edition of the course. Previous patrons include Sir Bobby Charlton, Lord Coe, former Olympic swimming champion Alexander Popov and UEFA president Michel Platini.