September 2024

Based on the collaboration between EAS and the Italian Society of Movement and Sports Science “SISMES”, on September 20, 2024, President Laura Capranica and dr. Enrico Montaperto from the Directorate of Education of the Italian University Ministry (MUR) co-moderated the symposium “International and National Policies for Dual Career” at the XV Annual SISMeS Conference held at the University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy https://www.sismes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Programma-SISMeS-2024-Chieti_per-sito.pdf.

Navy Captain Roberto Recchia, Secretary General of the International Council of Military Sports (CISM), addressed the opportunities and challenges of military sport in the athlete’s path during and after their sports career. Dr. Andrea Carletti, presented the activities of EPAS-Council of Europe towards an ethical, inclusive, and safe sport, including the focus session on “Dual Career: Effective Strategies and Future Directions” to be held during the 18th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport of the Council of Europe to be held in Porto next October 10, 2024. Prof. Paolo Bouquet (University of Trento) reported the Italian experiences in promoting dual career through the Unisport Italia network, including the recent survey on the dual career policies and provisions offered by 56 higher educational institutions (HEI). Prof. Pascal Izzicupo (University of Chieti-Pescara) reported on the guidelines for HEIs of the More Than Gold (https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/603346-EPP-1-2018-1-LV-SPO-SCP) and the differences in the HEI-experts’ and student-athletes’ perceptions of the quality of policies and provisions in Italy, Malta, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain carried on as a deliverable of the FIND ME https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/101134043 ERASMUS+ Collaborative Partnerships. Finally, dr. Flavia Guidotti (University San Raffaele-Roma) presented the dual career paths of Italian female soccer players who recently achieved a sport professional status.

At the end of the Symosium, Prof. Angela Di Baldassarre, SISMEeS President (University of Chieti-Pescara) and Prof. Cristina Cortis SISMES Youth Committee (University of Cassino and Southern Lazio) presented a Recognition Plaque to President Laura Capranica for her commitment to the advancement of dual career in Italy .

This event was a tremendous opportunity to reflect on several aspects of dual career of the sportspersons in different context and to envisage further collaborations.

The SISMeS conference represented an opportunity to inform more than 500 Italian scholars on the expected actions and future outcomes of the ongoing ERASMUS+ Collaborative Partnerships COMPATH, DiscoverU, DCMENTOR, FIND ME, SMART START for DC, and TALENT, and the Capacity Building project Sports as Value

The IV International Scientific Conference “SIDUCA” was held in São Paulo from September 16 to 18, 2024, held in the Brazilian Paralympic Committee Center, a modern training center which is house for all the Paralympic sports. The conference was organized by the Associacao Brasileira sobre Dupla Carreira Esportiva (ABDC), under the patronage of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and the Brazilian Sports Ministry.

The President of ABDC, Prof. Felipe Rodrigues Da Costa welcomed more than 90 Brazilian students, scholars and researchers, 11 key lecturers, and 4 international guests from Europe and South Korea. llustrated the European and South Korean approached to dual career: Professor Laura Capranica, President of EAS  from Foro Italico University of Rome (Italy), who shared insights into the importance of European cooperation through the EAS network and the ERASMUS+ projects; Professor António J. Figueiredo Member of the EAS Executive Board from University of Coimbra (Portugal), who presented the opportunities to the conciliation of educational system and sports talents in light of the Portuguese 2019 decree law; Professor Cristina Lopez-de-Subijana from INEF Madrid (SPAIN), who presented the athletes’ challenges of the sport career trajectories in light of economic aspects, till the transition from sports to labor market; and Mr. Ha Gel Lee from the South Korean Paralympic Committee, who illustrated the national dual career programme supporting para-athletes. At the end of each day, the short presentations of young researchers substantiated the vivid Brazilian dual career discourse.

The last day, Dr. Iziane Marques, National Segretary for Sport Excellence (SNE) presented the policy agenda for the support of athletes and their transition to the labour market, including the development of national guidelines expected in the next months with the cooperation of national experts and scholars and Prof. Lopez-de-Subjana and Antonio J Figueiredo as European experts.

The conference represented a tremendous sport diplomacy opportunity through raising the awareness of the outcomes of past EU-Funded Projects, and the expected actions and future outcomes of the ongoing ERASMUS+ Collaborative Partnerships COMPATH, DiscoverU, DCMENTOR, FIND ME, SMART START for DC, and TALENT, and the Capacity Building project Sports as Value.

Further information is available at https://www.dcbrasil.org

The second transnational meeting of the FIND ME project, a significant initiative financed by the European Union for dual career athletes at the university level, was held on September 5-6 in Chieti, Italy, hosted by Universita Degli Studi Gabriele D’annunzio Di Chieti.

This meeting marks a crucial stage of the project, bringing participants together to advance the project’s development. Important steps were taken regarding the content and structure of the FIND ME platform, and all work packages within the project were evaluated in detail.

The opening of the meeting was conducted by Pascal Izzicupo from the host institution, Chieti-Pescara Gabriele D’Annunzio University. In his opening speech, Izzicupo discussed the importance of the project and the contributions of the participants.

Nenad Stojiljković from the University of Niš Faculty of Sports and Physical Education provided a general presentation of the project. Stojiljković gave detailed information about the project’s overall goals, the progress made so far, and future plans.

Another significant part of the meeting was the presentation by Pascal Izzicupo on the opinions of Experts and Sport-Academics (S-As) regarding Dual Career support services under WP2. Izzicupo provided valuable insights into the current services for dual career support across Europe and the improvements needed in this field.

One of the key moments of the meeting was the detailed presentation of the FIND ME platform by Matteo Perissinotto from OKKAM s.r.l. Perissinotto provided comprehensive information about the platform’s functionality, user experience, and operations, explaining the platform’s processes in detail to the partners. Project partners engaged in productive discussions on how the platform could assist athletes in balancing their academic and athletic careers.

The Collective Innovation team, responsible for dissemination activities, shared the results of social media engagement achieved so far. The project’s social media strategies and plans for reaching wider audiences were discussed in this section. Burak Caliskan shared plans for upcoming dissemination activities with the participants, presenting strategies to enhance the project’s impact.

After the meeting, participants had the opportunity to explore the historical beauty of Chieti. The meeting concluded with a pleasant dinner featuring pizza and pasta, after a museum visit showcasing the university’s rich cultural heritage.

We are excited to open a new door to the future of dual career athletes with the FIND ME project.