Are you interested in exploring the Olympic Games? And would you like to go on a 5-day trip to Paris and learn more about the Olympic Games 2024 together with students from all over Europe?
If so, the Circle U.lympics is just the thing for you.
The Circle U.lympics is a programme that delves into the theme of the Olympic Games and explores it from a host of different academic angles.
The programme is divided into two phases; 1) a series of online webinars and 2) a physical conference in Paris, the host city of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Phase 1: Online lectures
The first phase includes four online lectures from January to April 2024. Here, athletes, researchers and doctoral students from Circle U.’s 9 partner universities will discuss the themes of sports science and Olympism, with the aim to enhance the Olympic culture of the students and all those taking part in these events.
In the online webinars, students and researchers get to share their exchange research topics and expertise. The webinars cover a broad range of interesting and relevant topics: e.g. exploring the Olympic Games and their similarities with religion; considering issues around sustainability, gender, and governance; discussing whether Russian and Belarusian athletes should be excluded from the competition; or understanding the impact of nutrition on physical performance.
Phase 2: Physical get-together in Paris
In the second phase, a 5-day trip to Paris will take place from April 22 to 26, 2024 at Université Paris Cité’s Sports Science Department (STAPS). The programme will include workshops/conferences/debates, visits and sporting challenges for students, as well as film screenings. The event will bring together both students from across the Circle U. alliance and Université Paris Cité.
The Circle U.lympics project is supported by the Circle U. European university alliance and organised by Université Paris Cité’s Sports Science Department (STAPS), King’s College London and the University of Aarhus.
The primary target group is students from all Circle U. partner universities, and secondly academic staff from all Circle U. partners interested in sharing their work in the online lectures part. The online lectures are open to all interested students and staff in Circle U.
All lectures take place on Zoom from 18.00 - 20.00 (CET). You will receive the meeting links after you register.
31 January: Historical and ethical perspectives on the Olympic Games
Professor Marianne Qvortrup Fibiger, Aarhus University: The Olympic games and its similarities with religion - from a historical and contemporary perspective
Professor Bernard Andriu, Ethic Agency of Olympiens, Université Paris Cité : a new moral sport
15 February: Participation and performance perspectives
Professor Verner Møller, Aarhus University: Should Russian and Belarusian athletes be excluded from the Paris Olympics?
Circle U.lympics Team: presentation of the provisional programme for the week in Paris and how to apply
13 March: What does it take to compete in the Olympic Games?
Professor Louise Deldicque, UC Louvain: The importance of nutrition to win medals
Professor Milena Vukmirovic, University of Belgrade: Olympic Synergy: Paris 2024 and the Intersection of Active Living, Public Spaces, and Sustainability
10 April: Performance, pressure and politics
Professor Géraldine Zeimers, UC Louvain: Gender and gender equity in sports
Professor Peter Gröpel, University of Vienna: How important is sport psychology for an Olympic athlete?
Olympic athlete and 2016 silver medallist and AU alumnus, Sara Slott Petersen: the Olympic experience and the 'Olympic dream' from an athlete's perspective
Time 18.00 - 20.00 CET / 17.00 . 19.00 UK time
Participants who are only interested in the online lectures can sign up any time. All lectures will be given in English
Zumreta Trocellier, Université Paris Cité: zumreta.trocellier@u-paris.fr
Hannah Marshall, King's College London: hannah.marshall@kcl.ac.uk
Lotte skovborg, Aarhus University: skovborg@au.dk
