EU Projects

On September 29, 2021, the University of Limerick –  Ireland, coordinator of the ERASMUS+ Collaborative Partnership “BRAnd Values Alignment through Dual Career (BRAVA-DC)” (622824-EPP-1-2020-1-IE-SPO-SCP), organized online the second project meeting with the partner’s University of Rome3 – Italy,  University of Ljubljana – Slovenia, European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI) – Belgium, Elite Sport Academy Aarhus (ESAA) – Denmark, Human Age Institute Foundation (FHAI) – Italy, University of Niš – Serbia, European University Sports Association Institute (EUSA) – Slovenia, and the European Athlete as Student Network – Malta).

The project progression was discussed, including the achievements, future actions, and dissemination activities. In particular, the primary focus of BRAVA-DC is on the enhancement of a dual career of employee-athletes and employee coaches in business-oriented companies.

To define a solid basis for supporting dual career in the workplace and facilitate appropriate brand alignment strategies and Corporate Social Responsibility policies, the scientific literature was analysed. In particular, a conceptual manuscript on dual career elements to be aligned to successfully manage sustainable strategies and practices of corporate brands has been awarded the 2020-2021 Bengt Nybelius Scholarship and will be presented at the 2021 FISU World Conference on December 13-14, 2021.

A further collection of information on the athletes’ and coaches’ needs and barriers of dual career at the workplace was planned. This collected evidence- and eminence-based information will be used to develop a European framework and guidelines.

After more than 2.5 years of implementation, the Erasmus + Sport-funded project EdMedia ends this September, with the main goal of proactively changing the attitude towards an athletes’ dual career by deliberately shaping a positive image and encouraging sports organizations to pursue the implementation of the EU Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes.

Partners from different EU countries have contributed to this goal: Lithuanian Sports University, Lithuania (LSU), University of Rome Foro Italico, Italy (UNIROMA), European University Sports Association, Slovenia (EUSA), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania (UAIC), University of Valencia, Spain (UV), German Sport University Cologne, Germany (GSU), University of Ljubljana, Slovenia (UL), European Athlete as Student (EAS) Network. 

A detailed analysis was carried out during the project to assess the extent to which the EU Guidelines for the Dual Career of Athletes are being implemented in the participating countries, with particular emphasis on 7 of the 36 recommendations related to a systematic approach to dual careers. The results of the project are available on the project coordinator’s (Lithuanian Sports University) website: https://www.lsu.lt/en/project-edmedia/. 

During the project, implementation was developed an online platform where athletes, coaches, sport journalists and other stakeholders can find information on what a dual career is for athletes, why it is important and how to use social media to raise awareness of a dual career beyond athletes, but also among the general public, which is shared by athletes from different countries. It is important to mention that the focus was not so much on presenting the importance of the dual career itself, but also on creating a video-based learning platform for athletes seeking a dual career where they can find tips on how to present themselves on social media.

So we invite athletes to actively use the online platform developed during the project to create their own story with EdMedia ….   

On June 24, 2021, the Catholic University of San Antonio Murcia UCAM –  Spain, coordinator of the ERASMUS+ Collaborative Partnership “Dual Career of Student-Athletes with Disabilities as a Tool for Social Inclusion – PARA-LIMITS” (622213-EPP-1-2020-1-ES-SPO-SCP), organized online the second project meeting with the partner’s University of Rome Foro Italico – Italy,  the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu – Portugal, the National Physical Education University of Bucharest – Romania, the University of Limerick – Ireland,  the Collective Innovation – Norway, the European Paralympic Committee and the European Athlete as Student Network – Malta).

First, the findings on the state of the art of dual career of student-athletes with disabilities were analysed. Then, a further collection of information on the obstacles, needs and barriers of this special population in relation to their sports and academic career was planned. In particular, a multi-lingual online survey and national focus groups will be organized during the fall. The collected evidence- and eminence-based information will be used to develop a guide to boost the dual career among athletes with disabilities, and to create an innovative course for the training of university staff as sports mentors specialized in student-athletes with disabilities. (more…)

The Partners of the Erasmus+ funded project ELCAMP (A Self-employment Career Option for Elite Athletes: Innovative Sport-focused Entrepreneurship Bootcamp) met virtually for a kick-off meeting in March. EAS was represented by dr. Mojca Doupona and dr. Tibor Kozsla.

The ELCAMP project focus to strengthen the skills and competencies of elite and Paralympic athletes on sport-focused entrepreneurship with innovative methods and connecting athletes among themselves and with other people interested in entrepreneurship. The project objectives directly address the target group of EAS. EAS will be actively involved in the pilot implementation phase of the project. EAS will also lead to the dissemination of project outputs both at the athlete’s level and at the level of sports organizations in Europe.

EL CAMP partners are Collective Innovation AS (Norway) in cooperation with European Paralympic Committee (Austria), Fundacion Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), Hogskolen I Molde (Norway), Lietuvos Sporto Universitetas (Lithuania), Olimpijski Komite Slovenije Zdruzenje Sportnih Zvez (Slovenia).

On April 6 the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is celebrated having a white card as a symbol to emphasize the positive values of sport, which unify individuals regardless of gender, ethnic, social or religious differences.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the SOS project celebrates the Sports Schools for Development and Peace event (@peaceandsport, @SportOpensSchool, #WhiteCard, #April6, #OnlyTogether) with a video involving students from the Hungarian (Kolcsey Ferenc Gimnazium, Budapest), Italian (IIS Newton Pertini, Camposampietro), Portuguese (Externato Cooperativo da Benedita), and Romanian (Liceum cum Program Sportiv, Bacau) Partner high schools.

Through its involvement in the European ERASMUS+Sport Collaborative Partnership More Than Gold (603346-EPP-1-2018-1-LV-SPO-SCP), EAS contributed to raising awareness on the dual career of athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thus, a study aimed to investigate the student-athlete’s capability to face the academic, sport, and social challenges during the 2019 lockdown and to disclose novel aspects of dual careers has been published on the prestigious peer-review journal Frontiers in Psychology. Four hundred sixty-seven student-athletes from 11 countries completed an ad-hoc survey. The findings substantiate the relevant role of a dual career in coping with the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic through home training and e-learning valuable resources. The full text is available here.