On October 29 and 30, University Sports Association of Poland (AZS) hosted an annual university sport congress in the Polish capital Warsaw, this year also featuring an international conference on dual career.

The international part of the Dual Career Conference started on Thursday afternoon, with the National Academic Representation session which covered the topic of the dual career of student athletes through the government programme, lead by the Ministry of Science and Higer Education in Poland. Moderated by Jolanta Zysko (University of Physical Education in Warsaw), the panellists Piotr Kowalczyk (Ministry of Science and Higher Education), Michal Spieszny (University of Physical Education in Krakow) and Filip Wisniewsky (University of Economy in Bydgoszcz) discussed the national programme, its main benefits and impact, as well as improvement opportunities in the future.

On Friday, the conference continued to the morning session on Dual Career in an International Context. Dual career programmes and projects for student athletes in other European countries were presented, sharing examples from partner organisations and universities. Moderated by Aleksandra Leszczynska and Krzysztof Sedzicki, the invited speakers first shared short presentations, and a panel debate followed afterwards. Laura Capranica presented the European dual career model, its impact, some opportunities and projects, and the European Athlete as Student (EAS) – dual career network. Andrej Pisl presented the mission and activities of the European University Sports Association (EUSA), focusing on the dual career approach, through practical examples of activities, events and projects, highlighting the current project Discovering University Sport and Dual Career (DiscoverU), lead by the EUSA Institute and co-funded by the European Union. Spartaco Grieco presented how dual career support can be implemented at a sports club, through the example of APS ASD Margherita Sport e Vita in Italy, referring to the opportunities and projects on dual career. Johanna Perrier from the French Sport Foundation presented their activities and programmes, with special focus on dual career. The final presentation in the session was made by Kristiana Kazandzhieva, representing the Bulgarian Olympic Committee gave an overview of the ACON project on dual career, its main accomplishments and learnings. A panel discussion followed the presentation.

The morning programme also included a session How can we support athletes, focusing on contemporary challenges related to comprehensive support for athletes. Moderated by Krzysztof Sedzicki, the key speakers were student athletes Maksymilian Szwed, gold medallist of the 2025 Summer University Games Rhine-Ruhr in athletics, European Indoor Vice-Champion in the 400m race, Przemysław Konecki, bronze medallist of the 2025 Summer Universities Games Rhine-Ruhr in compound archery, 2023 Team World Champion; and Szymon Piatkowski, silver medallist of the 2025 Summer World University Games Rhine-Ruhr in taekwondo, bronze medallist of the 2025 World Championships. Representatives of the universities and university sports clubs were also amongst the panellists - Aleksandra Leszczynska from AZS Lodz and Karol Bar from AZS AWF Katowice. In the discussion several challenges that top student athletes face during their studies and sports career were mentioned, but also the opportunities and success stories highlighted.

The conference part concluded with a panel session on AZS and the Academic Sports Community in Strategic Partnership Relations, where experiences of the national and local governments, as well as higher education institutions with university sports bodies (AZS) on local and national level were discussed. The high panel was moderated by Aleksandra Leszczynska and featured Piotr Borys, Secretary of State, Ministry of Sport and Tourism; Alojzy Nowak, President of the University Sports Association of Poland and Rector of the University of Warsaw; Bartosz Molik, Rector of the University of Physical Education in Warsaw; Adam Zajac, Vice-Rector for Sport of the University of Physical Education in Katowice.

The event otherwise also included also a national part over the course of two days, with several parallel sessions, including a session on common missions and common goals, trying to understand better how partners work; a session on the challenge of sports infrastructure; on AZS programmes for all generations; on Polish Academic Championships; on Masters of Generations; on the value of the World University Games (Universiades); and on student athletes in the media.

After the conference, a special annual Gala was held, celebrating the major achievements and successes in the field of university sport in Poland. EUSA representatives, as well as our strategic and project partners attended it as well.

The Congress and Conference in Warsaw were also part of the AthleteConnect (ACON) project, co-funded by the European Union, aiming to empower athletes for successful dual careers. For more information, please see www.azs.pl.