NEWS
On December 18-20, 2023, the European University Sport Association (EUSA) Institute organized in Val di Zoldo, Italy, the kick-off meeting of the DiscoverU Collaborative Partnership, in conjunction with the European University Winter Championships & EUSA Winter Forum.
The consortium is coordinated by EUSA Institute includes Croatian Academic Sports Federation, UniSport Heart Foundation (CRO), Hungarian University Sports Federation – MEFS (HUN), the Akademcki Zwiazek Sportowy -AZS (POL), the University of Salerno and FederCUSI (ITA), and EAS (MLT). DiscoverU will gather information on sport and physical activity opportunities for students in higher education and will share good practice examples for university sport and dual career support in the partner countries. To enhance sport participation and active lifestyles of university students the partner organizations will engage in blended learning, share experiences, gain new information and skills.
On December 16, 2023, the University of Soochow, China, organized an international meeting with the Chrles University of Prague, The University of Rome Foro Italico and the University of Taipei, followed y a Sport Forum during which Prof. Laura Capranica, President of EAS, presented the European dual career policies and activities.
Among the efforts of the European Commission in supporting Collaborative Partnerships and Capacity Building projects, the projects on dual career financed in the last decade were illustrated.
Furthermore, the role and contribution of EAS in addressing specific dual career issues in past, present, and future EU-funded projects were highlighted, also envisaging possible cooperation with non-European countries. In fact, dual career could be considered a valuable means for sport diplomacy to improve the dialogue, relations, and cultural exchanges between countries.
Coordinated by the University of Limerick (IRE) in cooperation with EAS (MLT), Elite Sports Academy Aarhus – ESAA (DEN), European University Sports Association Institute – EUSA (SLO), European Platform for Sports and Innovation – EPSI (BEL), Human Age Institute Foundation (ITA), Roma Tre University (ITA), University of Ljubljana (SLO), and University of Nis (SRB), after three years the Brand Values Alignment through Dual Career (BRAVA) project, co-funded by the European ERASMUS+Sport Programme (622824-EPP-1-2020-1-IE-SPO-SCP), has come to its end. On December 12, 2023, EPSI hosted the last transnational meeting of BRAVA-DC in Brussels (BEL) to discuss the achieved outcomes and to foresee further development in the dual career of the employee-sportsperson. Despite the pandemic challenges, the consortium successfully accomplished important steps in uncovering the evidence and eminence of the dual career at the workplace, which were summarized in scientific contributions, and a report with 16 guidelines and an evaluation tool available at https://edu.bravadualcareer.eu.
In the afternoon, more than 30 in-person and 100 online participants attended the Final Conference of BRAVA-DC, which was organized in conjunction with the 11th EAS online Cafè. Alberto Bichi (Director of EPSI) welcomed the participants on behalf of the hosting organization and project consortium, and Prof Ciaran Mac Donncha (Coordinator, University of Limerick) illustrated the main outcomes and findings of the project.
Dr. Kolë Gjeloshaj (Strategic coordinator at the European Fair-Play Movement – EFPM), previous Chair of the International Fair-Play Committee – CIFP) Scientific Committee, Scientific Collaborator at the Institute of Sociology of the Université Libre de Bruxelles and Vice-President of the Panathlon Wallonie-Bruxelles and Belgium) emphasized the relevance of values for dual career, which need more reflections and future actions.
Navy Officer Florentia Sfakianou (Olympian and Public Affairs Officer at International Military Sports Council – CISM), presented the dual career opportunities offered by military sports to actual and former athletes and the efforts of CISM in organizing one of the largest global sports events.
Dr. Ignazio Cocchiere (Policy officer in the Sport Unit of the European Commission’s department for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport – DG EAC, and soccer player) highlighted the European values and priorities in the field of sport, including the importance of dual career from the viewpoint of the EU and Sport Unit. He also offered his personal dual career experience as a professional football player in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, and as an employee at the EU institutions.
More information on BRAVA-DC project is available at www.bravadualcareer.eu.
OPENING FOR DUAL CAREER MENTOR CENTER IN LATVIA
On December 12, in the city restaurant “Lapsas Māja”, members of the Latvian University Sports Federation (LUSF) together with his colleagues and representatives of the sports industry opened the Dual Career Mentor Center (DCMC).
At the event, LUSF presented DCMC’s Informative publication “Dual Career Challenges and Options”. The authors of the informative edition are LASS president, Agita Abele, LU professor Anna Liduma, Head of the Department of Teacher Education of the University of Latvia Ilvis Abelkalns, and LSPA Ph.D. student Sofia Spidola Martinsone.
Today, sports and education are two essential areas of personal and professional growth in self-realization. Dual career issues are becoming more and more relevant around the world, especially in youth education, when high school graduates start planning their sports life career, wanting to connect it with education and learning a profession at a university.
An informative – educational publication on Dual career opportunities has been created by the Latvian Student Sports Union (LASS) and the International Student Sports Federation (FISU) within the cooperation project and it can be used by anyone interested in a dual career and the possibilities of realizing it in sports and educational careers.
The event was opened by LASS president Agita Ābele, emphasizing Latvia’s current situation and especially the importance of Dual careers today. Member of the 14th SAEIMA Davis Martins Daugavietis, chairman of the sports subcommittee, emphasized personalities and the importance of competencies and diverse resources, thus motivating the further development of sports and supporting student-athletes in their growth towards academic and chosen excellence in the professional sector.
LASS members and guests discussed future ideas and possibilities in anticipation of the anniversary methods for their effective implementation and various upcoming changes in sports and education in question.
DKMC Informative edition is available on the website: https://studentusports.lv/duala-
career-3/
Information prepared by
Sports Union of Latvian Universities
Between 19-22 November, the second workshop was organized, this time by the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina. OPES Italia was in charge of creating valuable and useful workshop content which they had planned based on the feedback of the participants. The partners have expressed their need that they would like to enable their participants with more project management skills which help them in the future to run similar projects like Sports As Value.
Besides focusing on technical skills such as project design, implementation, budget monitoring, coordination and evaluation systems, the objective of the workshop was to draft a base of a sustainable grassroots sports event management guideline, as well as to start to form the joint actions. The partners have been paired up to organize cooperatively events in their countries about value promotion and sports. The common work will also enhance their relationship for future cooperation. They are also encouraged to help each other as they own diverse useful competencies.
In the upcoming period, the project team will finalise the guidelines and the plan for the joint activities in the Western Balkan region. The next in-person meeting will happen in Montenegro in June when the Olympic Committee will show us how to deliver a sustainable grassroots sports event locally about values in sport.
The TALENT Project aims to promote equal education, prevent exclusion, support Dual Careers, create a new pattern of behaviour to benefit young, talented children, and prepare for lifelong learning and professional sports from childhood.
3rd Meeting of the Partners in Athens, Greece
The 3rd Transnational Partners’ Meeting took place on the 23rd and 24th of November, 2023, in Athens, Greece, and was hosted by KMOP Education and Innovation Hub. During the meeting, the partners discussed finalising the document for the Standards for Identification of Talented Children and the Methodological Handbook with Standards for the Detection and Assessment of the Potential of Talented Children in Sports. The partnership discussed the quality of the results and how they can be used by the target groups – educators and coaches wishing to support the dual career of students and how to recognise talented children in sports.
During the meeting, the partners developed the structure and content of the modules for the E-Stop Platform, in which children, teachers, coaches and parents interested in the topic can register and create a profile. The platform will contain practical information about recognising talent, supporting children, preventing their drop-out, and helping them maintain this dual status in the future by starting a dual-career program. The partners will develop the content, which will be piloted in the participating countries beginning in September 2024.
The contents of the platform will be:
- Positive Youth Development
- Fostering/Moniting Inclusive Environments
- Implementing Teamwork and Shared Insights in Recognising Talent
- Practical Talent Recognition and Support Strategies
The meeting was fruitful, and the partners ensured the development of qualitative results to enhance and support the target groups (coaches, educators and talented children). We are pleased with the outcome of the meeting and the positive atmosphere held throughout this two-day meeting. All representatives showed interactivity and were highly motivated to reach the goals of our project.
We thank you for your visit and for attending this meeting. It was an excellent opportunity to listen to each partner’s views on the project, evaluate its progress, and inspire the next steps of its implementation.
Stay tuned to learn more about the next steps of the project!
You can contact your local organisation implementing the project in your country to learn more and participate in the upcoming activities!
Edited by María José Maciá-Andreu María T. Morales-Belando Lourdes Meroño Antonio Sánchez-Pato, and Juan Alfonso García-Roca, the ebook A Holistic Approach to the Dual Career of the Student-Athlete includes the scientific contributions of the 2022 EAS Conference in Cartagena, Spain, and is available at https://www.dykinson.com/libros/a-holistic-approach-to-the-dual-career-of-the-student-athlete/9788411704861/
On November 2-4, 2023, more than 400 researchers gathered at the Parthenope University of Naples to attend the 14th Annual Congress of the Italian Society of Movement and Sports Sciences (SISMeS). The three-day event was preceded by a Conversation Corner between the young researchers and the SISMeS Board, and by two sessions dedicated to the selected 10 oral and 14 poster presentations of youth researchers, respectively. Following the opening session, there was a round table on the Italian States General of the Movement and Sports Sciences ,held in Rome on October 19-20, 2023. The second day was dedicated to the oral and poster presentations of the participants, to two symposia (“Exercise Prevention and Management of Diabesity” and “Performance Monitoring”), to the workshops of the COSMED, MATRIX, MICROGATE, and TECHNOGYM sports companies, to the presentation of the SISMeS educational course on “Statistics for Sports Sciences”, and to the SISMeS General Assembly.
In reporting the societal activities carried on in 2023, during the SISMEeS General Assembly, President Prof. Angela Di Baldassarre highlighted that SISMES cooperates with several Italian Scientific Societies of the health sector to sustain the values of an active lifestyles and enforces the development of the academic and professional careers of youth researchers. She also addressed the relevance of European dual career research for the advancement of the sports discourse in sports, recognized the progress of Italian Universities in the implementation of dual career policies, and renowned their involvement in the European ERASMUS+Sport projects in collaboration with EAS.
Prof. Laura Capranica, President of EAS, highlighted the relevant progress of dual career at the Italian academic level and the future challenges to improve the working conditions of sportspersons and invited the numerous Italian PhD students currently devoted to the study of Dual Career issues to contribute to the special issue “Multidimensional development of student-athletes: new perspectives on dual-career” (Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 17 January 2024, Manuscript Submission Deadline 07 May 2024). Through their collaboration, SISMeS and EAS aim to exchange educational tools and research in dual career for their respective networks and to disseminate the values of Dual Career culture for the improvement of academic and working conditions of the sportspersons.
The last day encompassed oral and poster presentations, the symposium on Sport and Sustainability, the main lecture “How Elite Sport Can Make Wearable Technology Happen” by Prof. Yannis Pitsiladis, the ceremony for the winners of the youth researchers and sports scientists awards, and the SISMeS Lottery sponsored by LEGEA.
In summarizing the success of the 14th SISMES Conference, Prof. Stefania Orrù, Chair of the Organizing Committee, thanked the Rector, the Colleagues, and the Staff members of the University Parthenope of Naples for their efforts and dedication, the Members of the SISMES Bureau, the young researchers for their innovative and exciting contributions, and all the participants who made this event a lifelong experience for the Italian movement and sports sciences. She also invited everybody to attend the 15th SISMeS Congress at the D’Annunzio Chieti-Pescara University in 2024.
Further information is available at www.sismes.org,
On October 23, 2023, the Rector Prof. Antonio Garofalo, the Pro-Rector for Sport and Active Lifestyles Prof. Pasqualina Buono, the Pro-Rector for Education Prof. Enrico Marchetti, and the Head of the Department of Medicine, Movement and Sports Sciences welcomed the participants to the Dual Career Day at the University of Naples Parthenope, highlighting the present and future development of dual career policies for allowing sportspersons combining their sports and education commitments. The University of Napoli “Parthenope” has been a long-term member of EAS and of the national network Unisport-Italia, which cooperated with the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP), the Italian University Sport Federation (FederCUSI), and the National Rectors’ Association (CRUI) for the formulation of the national dual career guidelines.
According to the strategic plan of the University, the implementation of dual career represents a relevant priority also considering the increased number of students and the future enlargement of the university campus. The President of the Regional Olympic Committee dr. Sergio Roncelli, the President of EAS, Prof. Laura Capranica, and the Presidents of the University of Naples Parthenope’s Bachelor and Masters degrees Prof. Rosaria Meccariello, Prof. Maria Luisa Iavarone, Prof. Massimo Valeri, and the responsible for the University dual career programme Prof. Andreina Alfieri discussed the achievements and future directions of dual career to overcome the barriers sportspersons encounter in their university paths.
Former champions Mr. Franco Porzio (waterpolo) and Mr. Emanuele Federici (rowing) shared their experiences and inspired young elite athletes to pursue a holistic development for achieving better performances in sport and academics. They also handed the dual career certificate to the current university student-athletes. At the end of the ceremony, President Capranica presented the EAS t-shirt to Prof. Pasqualina Buono.
From November 2 to 4, 2023, the University of Naples Parthenope will host the Annual Congress of the Italian scientific society of movement and sports sciences (SISMES) during which a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed with EAS.
Hosted by the Turkiye University Sport Federation (TUSF), more than 100 delegates of the European University Sports Association (EUSA) and invited participants from the American, African, Asian, and Oceanian FISU gathered in Kusadasi (Turkiye) to attend the EUSA General Assembly, the EUSA-FISU Strategic Dialogue 2023, and the EUSA Awards Ceremony. The first day, the EUSA President Mr. Adam Roczek opened the 2023 EUSA General Assembly aimed to discuss and approve the EUSA activities, and to foresee fruitful international cooperation with the International University Sports Federation (FISU). Further information is available at https://www.eusa.eu/eusa-general-assembly-2023-held-in-kusadasi
During the second day, Mrs. Sevim Gullu, Scientific Board Member of the European Fair Play Movement (EFPM) addressed good governance and fair play issues to introduce two panel discussions of the EUSA-FISU Strategic Dialogue 2023. The first panel discussion moderated by Lorenz Ursprung involved the EUSA President Mr. Adam Roczek, the FISU Acting President Mr. Leonz Eder, the FISU America President Mr. Alim Maluf Neto, the FASU Secretary General Mrs. Penninah Kabenge and the AUSF Representative Mrs. Jin Liu, who addressed the achievements, future perspectives, and challenges of university sports in the different continents.
Mrs. Natasa Jankovic moderated the second panel discussion on sustainable sports involving the Estonian FISU representative Mr. Tarmo Jaakson, Swiss EUSA representative Mr. Andreas, the representative of the Hungarian University Sports Federation Mr. Peter Juhasz, and the Italian representative of FederCUSI Mr. Francis Cirianni. Although sustainability is among the most important topics in sports, different expectations, approaches, and advances make it difficult to generalize key economical, organizational, and political outcomes. Further information is available at https://www.eusa.eu/eusa-fisu-strategic-dialogue-2023.
The achievements and contributions of individuals, universities and associations deserving recognition and praise were celebrated during the EUSA Annual Awards 2022 guided by Mrs. Sara Rozman and Mr. Bruno Barracosa. The University Sports Association of Poland (AZS) was attributed the most active National University Sports Association (NUSA) and the Most Successful NUSA Award, the University of Zagreb was recognized the 2022 Best University award and the the Most Active University Award. The Medal of Appreciation was presented to the University Sports Association of Poland and to the Türkiye University Sports Federation (TUSF). A special Medal of Appreciation was presented to the Finnish Student Sports Federation, the Estonian Academic Sports Federation, the Latvian University Sports Federation and the Lithuanian Students’ Sports Association. A Medal of Appreciation was awarded and to the former Secretary General of the Croatian Academic Sports Federation Mr. Davor Habljak, to the Secretary General of Austrian University Sports Organisation Mr. Manfred Pfeifer, to the organizer of the European Universities Games Lodz 2022 Mr. Dominik Lezanski, and to the EUSA member Mr. Matija Krnc, and to the Badminton Europe Confederation. The Enno Harms Fair Play Award was attributed to the Hungarian University of Sports Science and the EUSA Order of Merit awards were given to Mr. Krzysztof Jozwik, Rector of Lodz University of Technology, to Mr. Zrinko Custonja and to Mr. Pedro Montiel Gamez. For his long-term commitment and significant contribution to the development and promotion of university sport in Europe, Mr. Lorenz Ursprung was attributed the EUSA Honorary Member Award.
A Medal of Appreciation was also presented to the EAS President Mrs. Laura Capranica for her long-term commitment in European Athlete as Student Network and successful cooperation with the European University Sports Association. President Capranica thanked the vision and determination of Mr. Risto Keskitalo and of Bengt Nybelius to whose memory EAS established an award for researchers, the support of the European Parliament and Commission for addressing dual career of the athletes as a priority of European sports policies, the members of the EAS ExCom for their commitment to the European dual career network, and to the members of EAS, EUSA and FISU, who support the dual career of athletes and have to start supporting the sport and academic careers of all the sportspersons, such as coaches, physical trainers, referees, sports managers, and volunteers.
Further information is available at https://www.eusa.eu/2023-eusa-awards-ceremony
REG. NUMBER: Voluntary Organisation registration VO/1270
PIC NUMBER: 913459865
Email: info@dualcareer.eu