In the period 12-15 September 2019, Iași hosted the Cup of Romania for sword cadets and juniors, male and female, organised by the Romanian Fencing Federation. Throughout the four days of competition, two of the project members carried out discussions with their coaches and athletes and promoted the concept of dual-career of athletes. More than Gold (MTG) is a project co-funded through the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, which proposes to develop conceptually the dual-career of athletes and to systematise the good practice policies in order to elaborate guides for the dual-career and a methodology for higher education, especially in the countries where the dual-career of athletes is at the beginning. The project coordinator is the University of Latvia, and among the partners, we mention: Fundación Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugalia), D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) and The European Athlete as Student (EAS).

Congratulations to all the participants and success in the academic year 2019-2020! In this event, Assoc. Prof. Liliana Radu, PhD and Assoc. Prof. Cristian Mihail Rus, PhD within “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași participated. 

On the occasion of the beginning of the academic year 2019-2020, the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport awarded its most valuable student athletes, who represented Romania at the international competitions and who competed to obtain a place on the podium or a qualification to major international competitions in track and field, fencing and women’s rugby 7.

We used this occasion to congratulate the student-athletes for the results obtained in dual-career and for their dedication to sport and study. 

The project More than gold supports the dual-career of student-athletes by developing guidelines for higher education, as we as by elaborating a methodological material about how to use easily the existing activities and services in university, for assistance in the dual-career of athletes.

The project coordinator is the University of Latvia, and among the partners, we mention: Fundación Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal), D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara (Italy) and The European Athlete as Student (EAS).

The project has the duration of two years and it is co-funded by The Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Assoc. Prof. Liliana Elisabeta Radu, PhD presented the project More than Gold (MTG) at the National Deliberations of the Physical Education and Sport teachers and of the coaches activating in the school sport clubs, on 23.09.2019 at the National College Emil Racoviță in Iași. 

Information MTG, objectives, results

MTG is a project based on an Erasmus+ collaboration partnership, co-funded by the European Union Programme. The project coordinator is the University of Latvia, while the consortium of the partnership includes the following institutions: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iaşi, Fundación Universitaria San Antonio, Universidade de Coimbra, D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara and The European Athlete as Student (EAS) network. 

The main purpose of the project is to create guidelines for dual-career in the higher education institutions and to consolidate the policies regarding dual-career within all the EU countries, especially in the countries where the policies regarding dual-career are in the initial phase. Furthermore, throughout the project, we will also collect the best practices concerning diverse activities for students, meant to help them at the beginning of the road and to start their studies on a good note. Hence, we will develop a methodological material for higher education, in order to show how one may use existing activities in order to support Dual-career. 

As a result of the project, first of all guidelines for the higher education institutions will be developed; these guidelines may be submitted by every partner organisation at the Ministry in question, and then the Ministry may make recommendations for all the education establishments in the country. Secondly, the higher education institutions will benefit from a methodology for the efficient implementation of these guidelines in daily activities and services. Another innovative aspect of the project is that we will promote dual-career among athletes.

On 23 October 2019, the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport hosted the roundtable with the topic Dual-career – the step towards performance, having as moderators Prof. Beatrice Abalașei, PhD and Assoc. Prof. Liliana Elisabeta Radu, PhD. There were teaching staff members, undergraduate students master students and doctoral candidates in attendance. 

Throughout the discussions, the participants talked about the professionalisation of the sport, the overlap with sports career and the studies, about the attitude of athletes, of coaches, of teachers, of the family regarding dual-career. Within the group discussions, opinions were expressed concerning the experience related to the education of athletes, the issues related to managing the educational tasks and those related to sports career, the educational role of sport and the possibilities of integrating athletes in the society after the end of the sports career. It is necessary to create a positive image of the athlete, to acknowledge and promote the results obtained, as well as to get support from the clubs and the federation for accessing dual-career. 

At the International Conference in Applied Psychology and Education Sciences, organised by Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Iași, the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences in the period 17-20 October 2019, Assoc. Prof. Cristian-Mihail Rus, PhD, pesented the paper titled The challenges of the dual career for the performance athletes-students along their academic track, which sums up a part of the results obtained after collecting the data concerning the needs of the student-athletes for a successful dual-career. The research was conducted within the project More than gold (MTG), co-funded by The Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The project has a two-year duration; it is coordinated by the University of Latvia, and it comprises five partner members – “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Iași (Romania), Fundación Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal), D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara (Italy), and the European Athlete as Student (Malta), respectively. 

In the period 9-10 December 2019, the city of Pescara, Italy, hosted the third meeting within the project More than gold (MTG) concerning the dual-career of athletes. Each partner presented and discussed sections concerning the guidelines developed in relation to the dual-career of student-athletes. Furthermore, the partners agreed to the terms used and to the way in which the guides will be tested in the partner universities and within other countries of the European Union. In total, six member-countries participated: The University of Latvia (it its capacity as coordinator), “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Iași (Romania), Fundación Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal), D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara (Italy) and the European Athlete as Student (Malta), as their capacity as project members. 

The project has a two-year duration and it is co-funded by The Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

As a result of the project, first of all guidelines for the higher education institutions will be developed; these guidelines may be submitted by every partner organisation at the Ministry in question, and then the Ministry may make recommendations for all the education establishments in the country. Secondly, the higher education institutions will benefit from a methodology for the efficient implementation of these guidelines in daily activities and services. Another innovative aspect of the project is that we will promote dual-career among athletes.

Between November 2019 and January 2020, representatives of local, national or decentralized sports organizations, of the County School Inspectorate, of the Romanian Olympic Academy, coaches, and teachers were invited to attend these meetings. 

The purpose of this meetings with the dual career supporters (coaches, club leaders, sports counselors, specialized school inspectors, teachers, year tutors / mentors) consisted in discussing the material drafted by the consortium members within the Project More than Gold related to the directions set for the creation of the intellectual outputs 1 and 2 (IO1, IO2) and to bring improvements to students-athletes, based on the experience in the field of dual career.

The topics addressed in the presentation were the following:

-Dual career guideline destined to higher education: financial support, infrastructure, mentors/tutors, requirements regarding the curriculum and the teaching process, social support, and other activities supporting dual career.

-Guideline enforcement methodology: terminology specific to dual career, current situation of the dual career.

More than Gold (MTG) is a project co-funded through the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, which proposes to develop conceptually the dual-career of athletes and to systematise the good practice policies in order to elaborate guides for the dual-career and a methodology for higher education, especially in the countries where the dual-career of athletes is at the beginning. The project coordinator is the University of Latvia, and among the partners, we mention: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Fundación Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugalia), D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) and The European Athlete as Student (EAS).

On February 10-11, 2019, at the University of Latvia (coordinator), the first meeting took place within the More than gold (MTG) project, co-founded by the Erasmus+  Programme of the European Union. Partners in the project are „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași (Romania), Fundación Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), University of Coimbra (Portugal), D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) and The European Athlete as Student (Malta). From the University „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” from Iași, attended Associate Professor PhD. Liliana-Elisabeta RADU and Associate Professor PhD. Cristian-Mihail RUS. The main aim of the project is to promote Dual Career among athletes, to create Dual Career Guidelines for higher education institutions (HEI), and to develop Methodology material for Dual Career, especially in the countries where the dual career of athletes is at early stage.

As part of the More than gold (MTG) Project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, a Focus group Workshop was organized, were 15 student-athletes from the bachelor and master programs participated. The meeting took place on April 17, 2019 at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași. The main aspect of the workshop was to collect informations on the needs of student-athletes in successfully completing the dual career. The obtained results will be included in the Dual Career Guidelines for higher education institutions and the Dual Career Methodology of application for the higher education institutions. Latvia University is the coordinator of the project, and „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, Fundación Universitaria San Antonio, University of Coimbra, D’Annunzio University of Chieti – Pescara and The European Athlete as Student (EAS) are members in the project.

Between May 15-17, 2019 took place in Iasi, Romania, the 12th edition of the LUMEN International Scientific Conference. During this conference, a workshop was organized for the dual career, entitled: More than gold – Rethinking actions in dual career of students. Attended to the event Associate Profesor PhD Liliana-Elisabeta Radu (as coordinator), Associate Professor PhD Rusu Oana Mihaela (as invited speaker) and Associate Professor PhD Cristian Mihail Rus (as invited speaker). The objectives of this meeting were: to present the Project More than gold; presentation of the concept of Dual Career of athletes; and collecting good practices from representatives of pre-university and university educational institutions, representatives of national federations and sports clubs as well as coaches regarding the challenges of dual career among athletes. The More than gold Project is co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and is coordinated by Latvia University. Partners in the project are: „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, San Antonio University Foundation, Coimbra University, D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara and The European Athlete as Student (EAS).

During the period March-May 2019, an investigative research was conducted at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport within the Iași UAIC. The aim was to identify the personal, academic and sporting needs of student-athletes in dual career. The obtained results will contribute to the development of the Dual Career Guidelines for higher education institutions (HEI) and the Dual Career Methodology of application for higher education institutions (HEI). The research was carried out within the More than gold (MTG) Project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. The coordinator of the project is the University of Latvia, and as partners the University „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” of Iași, the Fundación Universitaria San Antonio, the University of Coimbra, D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara and The European Athlete as Student (EAS).

The second meeting in the More than gold Project for the Dual Career of athletes was held in Spain, at the Fundación Universitaria San Antonio in Murcia. The project coordinator is the University of Latvia, and the partners are „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași (Romania), Fundación Universitaria San Antonio (Spain), University of Coimbra (Portugal), D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) and The European Athlete as Student (Malta). The „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași was represented by the Assoc. Prof. PhD. Liliana-Elisabeta RADU and Assoc. Prof. PhD. Cristian-Mihail RUS. In order to develop the concept of a Dual Career in Europe, the project aim is to collect and systematize the best practices in order to develop a Dual Career Guidelines and a Methodology of aplication for higher education institutions. At the meeting, the results obtained from the focus group were discussed and the questionnaires applied to the student-athletes were analyzed. The project runs for two years and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.