May the mentor be with you! an innovative approach to the dual career mentoring capacitation

Abstract

The European Commission has made notable efforts in recent years to serve those students who, within the European Higher Education Area, combine their studies with performance sport (student-athletes). In this sense, various projects have been developed that seek to meet the needs of this group, following the recommendations established by the European Commission itself. YODA Mentors project, developed in collaboration of six member countries of the European Union, seeks the training of professionals capable of meeting the special needs that these student-athletes may have throughout their sports and academic careers, professional Mentors for the Dual Career, able to work together with higher education and sports institutions at European level. This work describes the main characteristics of the training program developed based on the recommendations established by the expert committees of the participating countries, as well as the experience of the participants (mentors and mentees) who are being part of it. The differential characteristics of the YODA Mentors project are highlighted and discussed, compared to previously financed projects with the same objective of training professionals involved in the Dual Career.