LAUSANNE – Since its establishment in 2018, the pioneering FISU Academic Advisory Board met for the second time at the home of university sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The meeting was held at the new IOC headquarters, the Olympic House, following an invitation from IOC President Dr Thomas Bach. The past year brought some changes to the composition of the board: Gianmaria Ajani (University of Turin) and Joao Silva (University of Coimbra) left following elections at their universities, while Stefano Geuna (University of Turin) and Dawn Freshwater (University of Western Australia) joined the board.
Despite the start of the academic year and busy schedules, three members were able to attend in person: Mark Emmert (NCAA President), Hao Ping (Peking University) and Tshilidzi Marwala (University of Johannesburg). They were joined by FISU leaders including FISU President Oleg Matytsin, Secretary General Eric Saintrond, First Vice-President Leonz Eder and Senior EC Member Verena Burk.
The IOC President welcomed the participants and praised the work of FISU in bringing universities closer to the Olympic movement. He was particularly supportive of the Healthy Campus project and explained that the IOC is following the developments in this domain with interest.
The agenda of the meeting focused on three main topics: the progress of the Healthy Campus project, the new visual identity for FISU and the cultural component of the Universiade, with the possibility for FISU to organise artistic competitions alongside the main sporting programme.
The meeting was followed by a tour of the Olympic House and then team-building activities with FISU staff, to celebrate the International Day of University Sports.