Combining a course of university studies with a high-level sporting activity presents some difficulties. With the annual Dual Career program, the Polytechnic of Turin has been committed since the 2019/20 Academic Year to meet the needs of student athletes, to make the commitment of class attendance, study, exam preparation and of the thesis with the rhythms of training and competitions in the world of sport.
To reward the most deserving student athletes of the University, today the Study & Sport event was helddedicated to the Dual Career program, in the Sala Emma Strada in the headquarters of the Politecnico in Corso Duca degli Abruzzi.
The Rector of the Polytechnic of Turin, Guido Saracco, and Professor Marco Barla, Rector’s contact person for sports and recreational activities, in the presence of CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) President Stefano Mossino and CIP (Italian Paralympic Committee) President Silvia Bruni , awarded the diplomas to the three athletes of the Polytechnic recipients of the Dual Career scholarships for particular sporting and academic merits.
This year the following scholarships were awarded: Silvia Crosio, world rowing champion and enrolled in the Master’s Degree Course in Mechanical Engineering, Riccardo Romano, multiple national finswimming champion, also a student of Mechanical Engineering, and Alberto Zamariola, junior Olympic rowing, enrolled in Management Engineering.
The event made it possible to present all the male and female athletes of the program to the university community: Anna Arnaudo, Martina Banchi, Gaia Bertello, Cecilia Bertolani, Matilde Borello, Paolo Borgna, Martina Brangero, Alice Cambiasco, Margherita Cecere, Tommaso Cerruti, Matilda Coata, Samuel Pierre Maurice Coriat, Silvia Crosio, Gianluca De Andreis, Alberto Bartolomeo Demarchi, Nicole Degani, Jouya Ebrahimimehraban, Luca Fabbri, Alessia Gaido, Nicolò Gallo, Olivier Giacomelli, Aurora Giambartolomei, Stefano Goria, Elena Gregori, Stefano Grendene, Andreapaolo Leone , Giulia Marchisio, Andrea Novero, Simone Olivero, Giuliano Franco Palazzi, Gabriele Paolini, Marie Elisa Pellicanò, Andrea Peruzzo, Giuseppe Piacenza, Stefano Richieri, Sophie Riva, Noemi Romani, Riccardo Romano, Arturo Rotta, Andrea Serra, Marco Torta, Andrea Gabriele Tricarico, Erika Veglio, Alberto Zamariola. A large group, for a total of 24 disciplines and almost 40 sports clubs represented.
During the ceremony, Professor Sebastiano Foti, Vice Rector for Education at the Turin Polytechnic, also spoke to describe the effort to meet the needs of students/athletes in scheduling exams, and, via video link, Professor Paolo Bouquet, President of Unisport Italia, who recalled the recent issue of the guidelines for university dual career programmes, the result of a joint effort by CONI, CUSI and UNISPORT ITALIA.
The event was also an opportunity to learn about the project of the University’s sports representatives who will defend the name of the Polytechnic of Turin in a circuit of international competitions in four disciplines: men’s basketball, men’s soccer at 11, mixed rowing and women’s volleyball.
“The Dual Career program of the Politecnico celebrates its fourth year today. – declares Professor Marco Barla – The university’s commitment is rewarded by the constant growth in the number of participating students. Today there are 45, divided into 24 sports with a prevalence for rowing, athletics, basketball and volleyball. Days like this are also useful because they help to raise, in the sporting world, awareness of the importance of university training for athletes and, in the academy, awareness that sport is a sector that allows many opportunities for research, training and technology transfer.”