‘Life After Sport Project’ took place with the participation of İstanbul Bilgi University Department of Sports Management.

Funded by the support of Erasmus+ Sports Programme Cooperation Partnerships in 2019, ‘Life After Sport’ project supports dual career, an important focal point for the European Commission and European Council since 2007, and it also aims to develop an innovative education programme. In the project aiming to create an optimal combination of high-quality training and education for young athletes by using a three-step educational programme with the participation of sports clubs, NGOs, universities, and schools from 6 countries (Bulgaria -Champions Factory, Italy - MineVaganti NGO, Greece - University of Thessaly, Croatia – Prva Rijecka Hrvatska Gimnazija, Spain – Asociacion de Jugadores de Futbol Sala, Turkey – İstanbul Culture and Sport Association), three ideas were suggested along with international meetings, educational programmes, multiplier sports events. In order to create structural dialog on a local scale in the field of sports in each country, the members of the consortium cooperated with prestigious local institutions during the implementation of the project. In Turkey, this project took place with the participation of the official partner İstanbul Culture and Sport Association and İstanbul Bilgi University Department of Sports Management.

Director of İstanbul Bilgi University School of Sports Sciences and Technology Cem Tınaz participated in the opening meeting, the first step of the project, on February 25-28, 2019. Begüm Çapraz, a student from the Department of Sports Management, participated in the international educational programme organized in İstanbul between October 13-19, 2019 and Cem Tınaz, Department Director, participated in the leaders meeting. Their participation in these meetings ensured that the innovative outputs that were produced were shared and enriched. After the local implementations were carried out, faculty member from the Department of Sports Management Dr. Hamit Emir Turam and also Department students Sedat Öztürk and Ali Sütlüoğlu participated in the closing conference that took place in Sofia on June 27, 2021. All the acquired results were shared with the experts conducting studies in the fields of public domain, civil society, and sports and they were provided with the opportunity of creating an international network. At the end of the implementation period that lasted for 30 months, an International Research Report in which dual career analyses from 6 countries were included and current situations were examined, a manual including dual career policy examples and recommendations, and a three-step educational programme (learning-life skills-career opportunities) providing learning opportunities for athletes between the ages of 15-18 so that they can build their education and sports careers together were formed.

You can reach all the outputs of the project from http://lifeaftersport.eu/ website.