UNG and Sports

University of Nova Gorica and Sports

At the University of Nova Gorica (UNG) we are aware of the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle and of the needs of athletes to obtain quality education. Strict study regulations have have cut short the sports career of many a promising athlete. On the other hand, there are many athletes who manage to study and at the same time keep on with their sports careers. In order to encourage more athletes to take a double career path, we have decided to offer athletes a special scheme of studies, tailored to their needs and helping them them manage both their sports careers and studies.

UNG has been the first university in Slovenia to offer the status of a student athlete on the basis of the individual evaluation of an athlete’s achievements, taking into account one’s results, achievements and the reccommendations of the relevant sports associations and clubs, regardless of an athlete’s categorization by the National Olympic Committee.

Our individual approach, studying in small groups, and distance learning opportunities enable us flexibility in terms of offering athletes favourable conditions of studies and tailoring the studies to the athletes’ needs.

Studies are tailored to the specific needs of individual students–athletes and their coaches. The modifications to a certain extent depend on the selected study programme (eg. the amount of mandatory practical classes). Students athletes can be exempt from attending certain lectures, allowed to be absent for a longer period of time during the academic year, have adapted dates and modes of examinations, extended deadlines for seminar papers etc.

The mild sub-Mediterranean climate of Goriška region offers favourable conditions for training in winter as well, if compared to other parts of Slovenia, where outdoor sports activities may be difficult to carry out in winter months. Nova Gorica’s convenient location, between the Alps and, on the other hand, the Adriatic coast, and the region’s quality infrastructure offer opportunities for practising various sports.

More on tailored modes of study for athletes/arrangements of club visits:
Veronika Piccinini (Veronika.Piccinini@ung.si; +386 5 33 15 260)

Sports photographs used on UNG main homepage:

• Volleyball motif: Urban Česnik, volleyball player and UNG MSc graduate; Photo: Borut Jurca
  
• Mountain running motif: motif of Rok Bratina, mountain runner and UNG student; Photo: Uroš Švigelj, www.tekac.si
  
• Kayaking motif: cooperation between UNG and the Soške elektrarne kayaking club, motif captured at the sports photography workshop organised by the School of Arts; Photo: Miha Godec