The University has just launched a support programme for university learning among high-level and high-performance athletes. The “Sport Talent” programme is designed to ensure the well-being of high-level and high-performance athletes and also to ensure their learning, in order to guarantee a successful professional future.

The objective of the “Sport Talent” programme is to help this group of students make their sports career compatible with their academic activities; therefore, the programme will provide academic support and tutoring to athletes enrolled at UIC Barcelona.

The sportspeople who are taking part in the “Sport Talent” programme will be assigned a tutor, who will offer advice and act as an intermediary to facilitate the compatibility of sports requirements with academic requirements. These students will receive recognition for the hours they dedicate to training, sports meets or competitions through a maximum of 6 optional credits within their degree programme, and will be able to participate in the university championships of Catalonia, Spain and/or Europe, representing UIC Barcelona.

The aim behind all these concessions is to welcome and normalise the practice of sports among students in the university, to understand that sport is fundamental to the full development of the individual and their intellectual and physical education, as well as for professional excellence and value acquisition.

Ernest Martínez, Head of the Sports Service at UIC Barcelona and coordinator of the programme, believes that “we will be delighted to welcome this type of student at our University, and we will help you as much as possible so that you can be educated without pushing your passion to one side while at the same time enjoying your university experience. Their success, both academic and at a sporting level, will also be ours.”

Through the creation of this programme, the University, in addition to committing itself to facilitating a balance between the academic and sporting activities of students, aims to promote physical and sporting activities among the student body as a whole.

UIC Barcelona is already home to this type of athlete, such as a student taking our Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy, Marina García, and graduate Sílvia Mas, who will take part in the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. However, the creation of this programme goes one step further towards the commitment that a dual trajectory is possible.