London 2012 has a new Higher Education agency that describes itself in the following way:

  ‘Podium’ is the Further and Higher Education Unit for the 2012 Games. The Unit has a nationwide remit and has two major aims;

To communicate both within the sector and with outside agencies about the potential for Universities and Colleges to support the successful staging and delivery of the 2012 Games.

To coordinate the development of activity within the sector that maximises the benefits of hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in this country, contributing to the building of a sustainable and wide reaching legacy”

It’s not clear whether this extends to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but it seems that this could be a valuable contribution to unifying Olympic research interests in the UK.