On 24 and 25 March, 2022, UNISPORT ITALIA (the network of 53 Italian universities) organized the First National Conference on Dual Career at the University of Rome “Foro Italico”. The event aimed to stimulate reflections on the profound cultural change that is taking place in Italy in the relationship between academia and sport, to highlight projects and good practices in place, and to outline future actions for an enhanced synergies between these two sectors in relation to services, research, innovation, and contribution to communities and territories.
During the first day, the President of UNISPORT ITALIA, Paolo Bouquet (University of Trento) and the Rector University of Rome Foro Italico, Attilio Parisi, welcomed the participants and the distinguished lecturers. The event was opened by the Undersecretary of State for Sport and Olympic medalist Valentina Vezzali, who commended the networking activities and the fruitful exchange of good practices of UNISPORT ITALIA. She also anticipated the Governmental support for improving Dual Career at academic level including the allocation of funds for scholarships to athletes as students. Luca Pancalli, President of the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP) claimed that a country not investing in education has no future, being the cultural growth a real social elevator and an assurance for social inclusion. Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca, Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, affirmed that sport and education must be integrated for the holistic development of the individual. Giovanni Malagò, President of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), and Pompeo Leone, Secretary General of the Italian association of University Sport (CUSI) underlined the relevant efforts of UNISPORT ITALIA, CONI, and CUSI in developing national Dual Career guidelines to allow an effective complementarity of sports and academic careers. Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Vice President of the Italian Conference of University Rectors (CRUI), recognized the sports values of equality, collaboration, attention, and respect of rules crucial to educate future generations of citizens. Vito Cozzoli, President of Sport & Health, Andrea Abodi President of the the Italian bank for the sustainable development of sports and culture (Istituto di Credito Sportivo) envisioned future collaboration with UNISPORT ITALIA for the promotion of the educational value of sport and possible development of sports facilities at university level, respectively.
Maurizio Marano (University of Bologna), presented the findings of the survey promoted by UNISPORT ITALIA on Dual Career at Italian Universities and the online platform developed to help athletes get acquainted with the different Dual Career paths offered at academic level (https://www.unisport-italia.it/dual-career/). Kairis Ulp, Policy Officer of the European Commission, illustrated the European dimension of the Dual Career of athletes and the opportunities of the 2021-2024 workplan for sport. Mojca Doupona, Slovenian Director General for Sport and EAS Treasurer, described the actions carried out during the Past Slovenian Presidency of the European Union and the follow-up peer learning activities in Dual Career planned for September 2022. Paolo Pizzo (CONI) explained the efforts and objectives of the CONI-UNISPORT ITALIA-CUSI working group in developing the national guidelines for Dual Career. The EAS President, Laura Capranica, pointed out the achievements, challenges, and future directions of the developmental process in Dual Career fostered by the ERASMUS+Sport Collaborative Partnerships. Pompeo Leone (CUSI) reported on the research carried out by CUSI on Dual Career programmes at higher academic institutions and distributed the report book to the participants (also available at http://cusi.it/wp-content/uploads/ALLEGATIPDF/The_dual_career_of_student_athletes_in_italian_universities_cc.pdf). Finally, Dr. Elisabetta Nones (University of Trento and member of the Board of the European network on sports services in universities – ENAS) introduced the aims of the European Network of Academic Sports Services (ENAS).
On March 25, Dual Career programmes and projects at the University of Verona, Polytechnic of Turin, University of Padua, University for Foreigners of Siena, Luiss Guido Carli University, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (UCSC), University of Molise, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, University of Naples “Federico II, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Trento, Link Campus University, Sapienza University of Rome and Campus Bio-Medico University, University of Calabria, University of Siena have been presented and the financial opportunities provided by the Credito Sportivo have been described. After the Conference, the General Assembly of UNISPORT Italia elected the eight Members of 2022-2025 Board (Marco Barla, Politecnico di Torino; Paolo Bouquet, Università di Trento; Laura Capranica, Università di Roma “Foro Italico”; Cristina Cortis, Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale; Marco Gesi, Università di Pisa; Caterina Gozzoli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Luigi Melica, Università del Salento; Antonio Paoli, Università di Padova), who will designate the new President in the next days. The Board will also include a Member Designated by CRUI.
