Student-athlete pathways were the main focus of the second day of the Östersund 2026 FISU World Forum. Top specialists and researchers from Spain and Sweden gave keynotes before joining a really inspirational panel in the afternoon.
Dual Career was first mentioned during the official press conference on the first day of the Forum, by two Mid Sweden University representatives who shared their experience.
First Emma Nilsson, an accomplished biathlon student-athlete who is also doing her degree in Economics in Östersund.
“Yes, I could say that economics is my third discipline with skiing and shooting! Yes, time management is tricky when you are a Dual Career student, but I must say it is sometimes also nice to have something else to concentrate on than my sport, especially after a race that didn’t go so well. Being both a student and an athlete is the right balance for me!”
Marko Laaksonen is a Professor in Sports Science at Mid Sweden University after coaching the Swedish women’s national biathlon team and later the Finnish national team. He therefore has worn both the caps of the coach and the professor in a Dual Career environment.
“As a coach I always wanted my athletes to give their all in training and of course the professor wants their students to be 100% there during their studies . These expectations put way too much pressure on the student-athlete. In such situations, collaboration and communication between all three parts are key to success.”
The second day of the Forum was mostly focused on Dual Career after starting started with different groups attending parallel sessions – student projects, Healthy Campus audit trainings and Dual Career workshops – before everyone gathered into the main auditorium to hear the latest studies on the day’s topic.
2 Sep
