NEWS
Co-funded by the European Union through its Erasmus+ programme, from January 1, 2024 the 24-month Collaborative Partnership “Smart Start for DC” will focus on supporting the development of dual careers of young student athletes (14 – 19) through strengthening their transversal/transferable skills.
Coordinated by the Sports School PESG (Croatia), the project consortium encompasses experts in various fields of dual careers across Europe – MindSpin (Cyprus), Champions Factory (Bulgaria), MSV (Italy), EAS (Malta), Edirne Kirkpinar Sport Lisesi (Turkey).
During an online and a first transnational project meeting in Croatia, the key elements and project phases were envisaged to organize the work and produce quality outputs.
Then, the project activities progressed in the Partners’ countries through a desk search on dual career and education of transversal/transferable skills, and interviews to gather the’ opinion of dual career experts, educators, and coaches. The outcomes have been summarized to direct the development of a 10-module educational programme to be administered through a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) education. Furthermore, the project’s digital platform will offer a psychological assessment for the young participants and various networking opportunities.
To be informed on the progress of the project’s activities are available on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556732943039
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smartstartdualcareer/
The Smart Start for DC project is funded by the European Union coordinated by PEGS. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
On April 22, 2024, around 90 participants attended the 13th EAS online Cafè organized in cooperation with the EUSA Institute (https://www.eusa.eu) to address the role of university sports for enhancing sport participation and active lifestyles of university students, which is the focus of the ERASMUS+ Cooperative Partnership DiscoverU (https://discoveru.eusa.eu/).
The Cafè was moderated by Mr Andrej Pisl, EUSA Project and Policy Manager, who illustrated how DiscoverU aims to gather information on sport and physical activity opportunities for students in higher education in the partner countries and will share good practice examples for university sport and dual career support.
Ms Filipa Godinho, Pro-Rector of University of Coimbra, Portugal, explained how the European Universities Games held in Coimbra in 2018 had a positive impact on the development of dual career at the local university level, and also inspired the national Decree-Law n.55/2019, which urges all national academic institutions to reinforce their dual career supportive mechanisms and to extend them to athletes who participate in university sport competitions or are enrolled as athletes in the sports service of their university. In particular, she explained that students-athletes can benefit of different dual career support in relation to their sport involvement, spanning from elite to sub-elite and amateur levels.
Ms Marianna Pikul, representative of the International Affairs department of University Sports Association of Poland – AZS, reported the increased participation in the 2022 European Games held in Lodz and the high number of students contributing every year in the organization of a variety of sports events for different age groups (e.g., children, students, families). Furthermore, AZS supports the dual career of elite athletes in higher education, substantiated by the extraordinary representation of student-athletes in the Polish Team participating in the European Games, Universiade, and Olympics. Elite athletes having a success in both their sports and academic paths are good examples and inspirations for youth students in engaging in active lifestyles.
Mr Maté Nagyistok and Mr Lszlo Végh, Project Managers of the European Games 2024 to be held next Juy in Debrece and Miskolc, Hungary, presented the dual career approach of the Hungarian University Sports Federation (MEFS). In particular, Mr Nagyistok illustrated the programme for university students based on a cooperation between the education, sport and work sectors, through a coordinated action between families, educational institutions, and companies. Thus, youth athletes at the beginning of their sport career and elite athletes can benefit from mentoring, tutoring, career guidance, sports scholarships and free housing. In addition, Mr Végh presented how the 2024 European Universities Games to be held in Miskolc and Debrecen intend to go beyond the sport event itself. In fact, the slogan “More than Games” communicates that dual career can be a tremendous tool to engage of university students-athletes as ambassadors to inspire youth in combining active lifestyles, sports, and education for achieving a holistic development and full engagement in society.
In moderating the discussion on the involvement in dual career of different stakeholders and actors, Mr. Pisl highlighted the outcomes of two ERASMUS+ Collaborative Partnerships involving EAS and EUSA: EMPATIA, which developed a multi-lingual educational programme for parents of dual career athletes (https://edu.empatiasport.eu/eng/), and BRAVA-DC, which addressed the relevance of involving the companies in support of the dual career of sportspersons through their corporate social responsibility (https://edu.bravadualcareer.eu/report/).
Finally, Prof. Rajmund Tomik reminded that the call for papers of the 2024 Bengt Nybelius Scholarship is open (https://www.dualcareer.eu/call-for-papers-bengt-nybelius-scholarship-2024/) and invited the participants to send an abstract on their dual career activities and to attend the 2024 EAS Annual Conference “Dual career at school and university – innovative bridges between sport and education” to be held in Katowice, Poland, next 1-3 of October, 2024 (https://eas24.awf.katowice.pl). In organizing the EAS conference in the 2024European City of Science, it will be a special opportunity to highlight the contribution of dual career of sportspersons for the advancement of a European culture in and through sports on all aspects of life.
The DiscoverU project is funded by the European Union coordinated by EUSA. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Dear friends of Dual Career,
On behalf of the EAS Executive Committee, I inform you that the 13th EAS Online Cafè “University Sports – From Active Lifestyles to Dual Career” will be held on April 22, 2024 (from 12:00 CET).
The webinar is organized in cooperation with the European University Sport Association (EUSA) and EUSA Institute as part of the 36-month “Discovering university sport and supporting dual career (DiscoverU)” project, co-funded by the European Union:
Speakers:
Andrej Pisl, Projects and Policy Manager of the European University Sports Association & EUSA Institute; coordinator of the DiscoverU project
Filipa Godinho, Pro-Rector for Sport of the University of Coimbra and Director of the University Stadium of the University of Coimbra; Sports Director of the European University Games Coimbra 2018; former FADU President
Marianna Pikul, AZS International Relations Department, Volunteer coordinator of the European Universities Games Lodz 2022
Laszlo Vegh, MEFS representative, Project Leader of the European Universities Games Debrecen-Miskolc 2024 & Mate Nagyistok, Junior Project Manager of the European Universities Games Debrecen-Miskolc 2024
To attend the event, please register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8zTDrVPST-SnwYB395Ynfg#/registration
On April 7, 2024, Laurence Blondel, French member of the EAS Executive Committee and in charge of Dual Career at INSEP, was interviewed by Jamal Fadil and Kolë Gjeloshaj during the TV and radio show “Le Club du Dimanche” on BX1, the French-speaking Brussels TV network.
This was the opportunity for Mrs. Blondel to present the initiatives of the EAS and INSEP on dual careers a few weeks before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In that context, two speakers shared their experience on this subject. Mr. Philippe Housiaux, President of the European Fair Play Movement (EFPM), explained that he was unable to participate in the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, as the university he attended in the 3rd year of his law PhD studies refused to postpone his last exam. Munich would have been his 2nd Olympics after Mexico 1968. Then, Mr. Wilfried Happio, the French 400m hurdles track & field athlete who finished 4th at the last world championships and a university student in physiotherapy, presented his experience in a dual career programme.
During the TV and Radio programs, Mrs. Blondel was provided the information of the “Perpetual Calendar for a Fair Play World” developed as part of World Fair Play Day celebrated last September 7, 2023 at the City Hall of Brussels, Belgium by the P.I., the CIFP, the EFPM and the PWB.
The EU Funding & Tenders Portal is a crucial tool to find new opportunities and information on EU-funded projects. The recent implementation of the Portal allows a friendly use search through enhanced filtering, provides new recommendations tailored to specific needs, and informs through the News and Events sections.
In particular, information on 2021-2027 EU-funded dal career projects is available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-results?keywords=Dual%20Career&programmePeriod=2021-2027&order=DESC&pageNumber=1&pageSize=25&sortBy=title
Further information on the new portal and videos are available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home
“University Sports – From Active Lifestyles to Dual Career”
April 22, 2024 (from 12:00 CET).
The webinar is organized in cooperation with the European University Sport Association (EUSA) Institute part of the 36-month “Discovering university sport and supporting dual career (DiscoverU)” project, co-funded by the European Union.
By sharing good practice examples and implementation of sports and educational activities, DiscoverU aims to promote and support dual career in higher education to a large student population.
You can register to the event at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8zTDrVPST-SnwYB395Ynfg#/registration
The DiscoverU project is funded by the European Union coordinated by ENGSO. Views
and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily
reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive
Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for
them.
Looking forward to meeting you again, We wish you a nice week!
To create sustainable, long-lasting partnerships between European Member states and countries of the Balkan region for the promotion of positive impacts of sports values and grassroots sports for peaceful and interconnected societies, EAS participates to the SPORTS AS VALUE consortium, which published two documents, which aim to:
- help organizations implementing their local, national or international activities and events despite limited human and financial resources, by offering “Sustainable guidelines for the organisation, implementation and evaluation of a joint program to promote value in sport” (available at https://www.engso-education.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sustainable-guidelines-for-the-organisation-implementation-and-evaluation-of-a-joint-program-to-promote-value-in-sport.pdf), and
- highlight the crucial social role of sports in shaping values, fostering unity, and contributing to the collective spirit beyond mere competitions, by presenting a “Collection of good practices on value promotion across regions” encompassing diverse examples of the Western Balkan countries and some EU member States (available at https://www.engso-education.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Final-good-pratices-Sport-as-value-22.03.24-AZ-Sort.pdf).
The Sport as Value Capacity Building project is funded by the European Union coordinated by ENGSO. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Dear EAS Members and Friends,
the EAS Executive Committee wishes you a peaceful 2024 Easter and takes the opportunity to update you.
Recent activities
January 26-27: The EAS Executive Board met at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), during which the 2024 activities of the Network were planned.
January 30: The EAS President Laura Capranica and Treasurer Mojca Doupona attended the “2024 EACEA InfoDay on ERASMUS+ Sport Programme and other EU funding opportunities” in Brussels, Belgium. This annual event updates on the EU priorities in sports. Recordings of the main sessions are available at the link https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/news-events/events/info-session-erasmus-sport-2024-2024-01-30_en, whereas further information on the Erasmus+ Programme is available in the Guide provided in 24 languages at https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-programme-guide.
February 27: The Members of the EAS Executive Board Ole Keldorf and Risto Keskitalo visited the Vice Rector Rajmund Tomik and the Director of international Relations Piotr Rodak at the Academy of Physical Education Katowice (Poland) to define the Conference programme dedicated to “Dual career at school and university – innovative bridges between sport and education”. In Katowice, the 2024European City of Science, the EAS members will have the best opportunities for to celebrate the 20th anniversary of EAS. Further information of the 2024 EAS Conference is available at https://eas24.awf.katowice.pl
March 1: The Call for the Bengt Nybelius Scholarship has been launched. Researchers up to 40 years of age could be eligible for the Bengt Nybelius Scholarship by submitting as first author an original manuscript related to the scope of EAS before July 1st, 2024 (midnight CET) by e-mail to info@dualcareer.eu. By July 31, 2024, the winner will be informed that EAS will arrange travel, accommodation, and registration at the Annual EAS Conference in Katowice, Poland to present the scientific contribution on October 1-3, 2024.
March 11: the 12th EAS Virtual Cafè was organized to address the challenges and opportunities of “Students-Athletes Facing the Olympic Games”. The event was a special opportunity to hear the voices of former Olympians and athletes facing for the first time the senior Olympic Games in Paris. Moderated by the former Portuguese Olympic canoeing athlete Beatriz Gomes, at present Professor of Biomechanics at the University of Coimbra, and member of the Executive Board of the Portuguese Olympic Committee, the participants were Gévrise Émane, French Olympic judo medalist and three times world champion, at present working as life coach for athletes for the French sport institute (INSEP), Vice-President of the Judo French Federation, and TV and radio consultant; Andy Criere, Spanish surfing athlete qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and student of Business Administration and Management at the at the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Spain, and Davide Di Veroli, Italian epee fencer qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, winner of an Italian Sportrait Award, student of Economics and Management at the Italian LUISS Guido Carli University.
The EU-funded ERASMUS+ Capacity Building and Collaborative Partnerships
Sports as Value (101093451), the capacity building coordinated by ENGSO (Sweden) aims to build the capacity of sport managers and coaches in Balkan region for promoting the positive impact of grassroots sports and the values in and through sport. The best practices collected in Albania, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and some other Member States will be summarized in a report. Further information is available at https://www.engso-education.eu/sports-as-value/
Talent (101090147), the Collaborative Partnership coordinated by the Uciliste Centar Izvrsnosti Splitsko-Dalmatinske Zupanije Ustanova Za Obrazovanje Odraslih (Croatia) aims to develop a cloud-based education for creative sport talents. The report on Standards for the Recognition of Talented Children and the Methodological Handbook with Standards for the Detection and Assessment of the Potential of Talented Children in Sport have been finalized. In the next months, the user guidelines and the training materials will developed. Further information is available at https://talent-edu.eu
COMPATH (101050955), the Collaborative Partnership coordinated by COLLECTIVE INNOVATION AS (Norway) aims to Promote Employability of Young Student-Athletes through ‘‘Competence Hub’’ on Sport Innovation. Drawing inspiration from the findings from a study on the educational needs of young people who are aiming for a career in sports innovation, the Digital Sport Innovation Competence Hub is going to be developed. Further information is available at https://sportsinnovationshub.com
DiscoverU (101134052), the Collaborative Partnership coordinated by EUSA (Slovenia) aims to assess qualifications of elite athletes and to prepare them to the labour market. The project will develop e-learning materials for a Future Skills Curriculum, an Athlete Career Mentorship Platform Work, and organizie Power up Workshops for Elite Athletes.
DC MENTOR (101132309), the Collaborative Partnership coordinated by Sports Tech Consulting Education Tourism Organization Trade Limited Company (Turkeye) aims to Advancing Athlete Employability through Career Mentorship and Education. In particular, the project is designed to offer assistance to athlete for mitigating their difficulties in pursuing dual careers through tools and solutions in relation to life skills, future skills and 21th century skills.
SMART START for DC (101133555), the Collaborative Partnership coordinated by Sportsko Uciliste PESG (Croatia) aims to encourage the dual career of young high school athletes aged 14 and 19. To gather valuable insights of the skills and expectations of youth athletes across Europe, a survey has been developed and launched.
FIND ME (101134043), the Collaborative Partnership coordinated by the University of Nis aims to structure an evidence-based European user-friendly platform specifically tailored for dual career at university level. A survey is going to be launched to gather valuable insights to the development of the platform to best serve the needs of student-athletes across Europe.
Upcoming events
April 16-17: Under the Belgian Presidency of the European Union, the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission will organize the 2024 EU Sport Forum in Liege (Belgium) The event will bring together policy maker and representatives from sports organizations to discuss challenges and envisage opportunities for the European Sport.
April 22: 13th EAS Cafè “University Sports: From Active Lifestyles to Dual Career”
EAS Conference
October 1-3, 2024, the Academy of Physical Education Katowice (Poland) will host the 2024 EAS Annual Conference “Dual career at school and university – innovative bridges between sport and education” (https://eas24.awf.katowice.pl).The Conference is the most important opportunity for the dual career community to be informed on the best practices at local, regional, and national levels, the findings and outcomes of EU-funded dual career projects, and the recognition of researchers awarded the Bengt Nybelius Scholarship (https://www.dualcareer.eu/call-for-papers-bengt-nybelius-scholarship-2024/)..
A special thank to the Executive Committee and the Members of our Network for their proactive attitude in the recruitment of new EAS members and the advancement of the European dual career culture. I strongly encourage you to keep disseminating the EAS activities for the benefit of sportspersons as students and workers.
Prof. Laura CAPRANICA,
EAS President
On Wednesday, March 1, EAS (presented by Mojca Doupona) attended the kickoff meeting of the DCMentor project, which we are a partner of. The meeting was held in Oslo.
The project is designed to mitigate the difficulties encountered by athletes pursuing dual careers and to offer them assistance. Within this framework, we will devise extensive plans for numerous tools and solutions that will aid athletes in balancing dual careers such as life skills, future skills and 21th century skills.
We are eager to discover what accomplishments we can attain collectively in this project. We anticipate eagerly sharing the progress and results of our project with you in the future.
“Students-Athletes Facing the Olympic Games”
March 11, 2024 (from 12:00 CET).
Moderator
Prof. Dr. Beatriz Gomes, Professor of Biomechanics at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and member of the Executive Board of the Portuguese Olympic Committee. Former Olympic athlete of Cannoing in two olympic games (Beijing, 2008; London, 2012) and World Champion in the K1 Marathon, 2009.
Participants:
Gévrise Émane, French Olympic judo medalist and three times world champion, working for French sport institute (INSEP) as life coach for athletes, she is Vice-President of the Judo French Federation, and TV and radio consultant.
Andy Criere, Spanish surfing athlete qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and student of Business Administration and Management at the at the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Spain.
David Di Veroli (TBC), Italian fencer qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and student of Economics and Management at the Italian LUISS Guido Carli University.
Looking forward to meeting you again, I wish you a nice week!
REG. NUMBER: Voluntary Organisation registration VO/1270
PIC NUMBER: 913459865
Email: info@dualcareer.eu