For a fourth year in a row, the International Day of University Sport (IDUS) was celebrated in Finland with a nationwide seminar on Dual Career for student-athletes. This year, the seminar took place in the city of Tampere. Organised by the Finnish Olympic Committee, the Tampere Sports Academy, Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the seminar gathered around 70 on-site participants at the Varala Sports Institute, as well as 50 more attendees online.

Kalle Järvilehto awarded Student Athlete of the Academic Year 2019-20

At the end of the seminar, the 'Finnish Student Athlete of the Academic Year 2019-20' was announced. The honour was given to Kalle Järvilehto, a 25-year-old snowboarder studying at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences. Järvilehto is an Olympic athlete, who has reached top three in the Big Air World Cup competitions four times until now.

Aiming for success in the 2021 and 2022 winter sports seasons, Järvilehto has planned his studies well, allowing him to achieve goals as an athlete and as a student alike.

Also at this seminar, researcher Jyri Lindén from Tampere University spoke about the know-how and expertise gained during his athletic career; helping athletes in their career transition. Ice Hockey Coach Jukka Rautakorpi gave a coach’s viewpoint on the dual career issues and heptathlete Maria Huntington spoke about her experiences.

A brief introduction was also given to the EU Erasmus+ SCORES project, in which Tampere Sports Academy is one of the partners.

Diplomas of Honour were given to Planning Officer Elli Hämäläinen from Aalto University and Sports Coordinator Juha Hämäläinen from Tampere Vocational College Tredu for the great work they have done by enhancing athletes’ dual careers.