NEWS

On May 15 and 16, 2025, as Member of the Executive Board of EAS Laurence Blondel participated in the final event of the ERASMUS+Sport SAMEurope project (https://www.sameuropeproject.eu) organized by INSA Lyon. SAMEurope aimed to bring together European universities, companies, and sports bodies and institutions to discuss the challenges and opportunities for ERASMUS+mobility of dual career at tertiary education level.

During the first day, an overview of the SAMEurope project was provided and the key deliverables Guide of Good Practices (https://www.sameuropeproject.eu/guide-of-good-practices/) an online platform (https://www.sameuropeproject.eu/platform/) and a sociological study (https://www.sameuropeproject.eu/sociological-study/) for ERASMUS+ mobility opportunities at tertiary educational level have been illustrated. Furthermore, the Tri’Crit’Race sport event has been presented, an an overview of the mission, vision and activities of the EAS network has been offered.

On the second day, hosted at Matmut Stadium, participants explored the INSA Lyon high-level sport programme and joined a round table on how international mobility benefits dual career university students, with insights from athletes, companies, and alumni. The event concluded with the presentation of a sociological study on employers’ perceptions of dualcareer graduates and discussions on collaborations for further improvements of European actions at higher educational level. In fact, it is essential to support dual career university students so they can succeed both in their academic journey and in their future professional careers. The ideas proposed by the SAMEurope project were very well received by the audience, with the actual partners of the consortium expressing their approval and support, and new potential partners showing interest in joining the initiative and the platform.

A final wrap-up outlined key takeaways and the path forward for dual career support in Europe. In fact, this event provided an opportunity to strengthen ties between crucial stakeholders in charge of supporting DC students, from both the sport and the academic environments and it was the right place to address any remaining questions, creating meaningful discussions about the future of SAMEurope.