EU-GIFT Sport week in Verona
Five Days of Sport, Culture, and European Alliance Community
From April 26 to 30, Verona hosted the first edition of the “EU-GIFT Sport Week,” an initiative promoted within the framework of the European alliance EU-GIFTand organized by the University of Verona. For five days, around 60 students, faculty members, and administrative staff from the seven partner universities of the Alliance shared sports activities, academic exchange opportunities, and experiences exploring the local area, transforming Verona into a space for international encounter and intercultural dialogue.
The initiative was created with the aim of strengthening the sense of belonging to the EU-GIFT community through an immersive experience combining sport, international mobility, and the promotion of the local territory. In this context, sport proved to be an effective tool for fostering relationships, creating connections among students from different countries, and giving concrete expression to the European dimension of the Alliance.
As highlighted by the participants, the Sport Week represented much more than a simple programme of sporting activities. It was an opportunity to experience European higher education in a direct, collaborative, and everyday way. “We arrived as representatives of our universities. We left as members of one European team,” observed Alexandru Apahidean (University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine – Cluj, Romania), emphasizing how experiences like this allow students to grow beyond the classroom, engage with new cultures, and develop international relationships destined to continue over time.
Throughout the week, participants had the opportunity to explore the facilities, laboratories, and services of the University of Verona, alternating sports activities with moments dedicated to applied research. Activities included rafting on the Adige River, visits to local sports centers, and tours of the university’s laboratories in viticulture, oenology, and sports sciences. Together, these experiences offered an overview of the academic and cultural excellence of the region, combining physical activities, educational visits, and opportunities for social interaction.
For Cristina Fernández (Universidad de la Rioja, Spain), the week successfully combined “sport, internationalization, and collaboration in a dynamic and engaging way,” creating a space where students could share experiences, discover the academic opportunities offered by the EU-GIFT partners, and strengthen the multicultural spirit of the Alliance.
Anna Gerykova (Bordeaux Sciences Agro, France) also highlighted the strategic value of the initiative for the future of the Alliance, underlining how the Sport Week provided a concrete response to the need to involve students in the development of the EU-GIFT community and future shared projects, such as the Buddy Programme.
The European Alliance EU-GIFT, of which the University of Verona is the sole Italian partner, aims to promote innovation in research and education for the wine and agri-food sectors. EU-GIFT brings together seven European universities and 26 associated partners, including protection consortia, professional organizations, and trade associations.
The EU-GIFT Sport Week confirms the central role of student-focused initiatives in building an increasingly interconnected, inclusive, and participatory European academic community. Through shared experiences such as this, the EU-GIFT Alliance continues to promote a vision of higher education based on international collaboration, mobility, and the creation of lasting connections among students, faculty, and partner institutions.
Travelling from Romania to Verona with my students, for the Verona Sport Week, has been a powerful reminder of why the EU‑GIFT Alliance exists. As professors, we often speak about European integration in theoretical terms — but here in Verona, I saw it unfolding in real time.
There is no greater reward than watching students grow beyond the classroom: discovering new cultures, collaborating with peers from across Europe, and stepping confidently into an international environment. These experiences shape them in ways no lecture ever could.
This week transformed our universities from simple academic institutions into vibrant, interconnected communities. It demonstrated that our alliance is not just a formal agreement; it is a living network sustained by the energy, curiosity, and commitment of its people.
We arrived as representatives of our own universities.
We left as members of one united European team.
Sport Week at the University of Verona: building connections across the Alliance
The first Sport Week organized by the University of Verona has provided students from the seven EU-GIFT partner universities with a valuable opportunity to experience the meaning of the Alliance. It has combined sport, internationalization and collaboration in a dynamic and engaging way.
Through shared sports activities, students were able to connect, build relationships, and exchange experiences with peers from different countries, reinforcing the spirit of multiculturalism within the Alliance. At the same time, they gained insight into the academic opportunities and mobility pathways available across partner institutions.
The program also offered a rich cultural experience, allowing participants to discover the landscape, traditions, and gastronomy of the region, and to engage with its cultural identity.
Overall, this initiative has strengthened connections among students and institutions, contributing to a more interconnected and globally aware academic community, in line with the values and vision of EU-GIFT.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the University of Verona and to all the staff involved for their dedication and excellent organization, which made this experience truly enriching for everyone.
How to connect students from EU-GIFT member universities? How to make them discover EU-GIFT alliance and its strategy? And how to bring students on board to develop future joint student projects such as Buddy programme? The first EU-GIFT Sport week, organized by the team of colleagues from University of Verona, replied in an challenging way to these goals thanks to the Sport.
The participants from 7 members universities and even more then 7 nationalities and languages were honored to benefit from a rich and diversified sportive and intercultural programme. Indeed, the week was filled with sport practice and scientific experience (at Biotechnology department and Neuroscience and Sport department) but we observed it as a hub of human exchanges related to the sport, the academic interest and new friendships.
We believe that the Sport week in Verona was a relevant student event which will contribute to design the future of EU-GIFT Alliance for students.