D’Annunzio University of Chieti – Pescara

Universitá G. d’Anunzzo Chiati Pescara (Ud’A)- Partner

The ‘Gabriele d’Annunzio’ University, established in 1965 as a ‘Libera Università’ (non state-owned university), became a state higher education institution in 1982.

Today, Ud’A comprises thirteen Departments, five of which are organised under the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and two under the School of Economics, Business, Legal and Sociological Sciences. The two campuses of Chieti and Pescara also include laboratories, research centres and libraries; the metropolitan setting is characterised by a high degree of hospitality and comfort, with service and leisure facilities. The University counts on a teaching and administrative staff force of approx. 2000 people and the enrolled students for the current academic year are 36.000.

 Ud’A offers I cycle (three years), II cycle (two years) and single cycle (5/6 years) degree programmes, doctoral and specialization programmes and master courses. Furthermore, the university diligently fosters internationalization in Europe and beyond by ensuring quality education and research activity to its broad international community. The ‘Gabriele d’Annunzio’ University openly extends a warm welcome to all EU and non-EU potential students and places at the disposal of the international learning community all of its student services including the Student Records’ Offices and the Orientation Office. The university has both the school of sport science and the school of psychology and has about 60 professors in these two sectors that are related to the aims of the current project. First, second and third level higher Education courses are provided and many facilities are available for students. The key persons involved in the project are sport psychologists and sport scientists with a huge background in applied and research fields. They are professors in the courses of psychology and sport science. Specifically, Maurizio Bertollo, Claudio Robazza, Selenia di Fronso and Réka Zsanett Bondár, Phd student, will be involved however many other social, clinical and experimental psychologists are available, if necessary, for the project. 

Ud’A is involved as a coordinator and partner in many research projects at national, European and international level. For instance, the ESFA (Equal Sport For All) project is one of the most recent Erasmus + collaborative partnerships in which the University and the professors/researchers mentioned above have been involved. The main objective of the ESFA project has been the promotion of voluntary activities in sport, together with social inclusion, equal opportunities, and awareness of the importance of health- enhancing physical activity through increased participation in, and equal access to, sport for all. A relevant ongoing Erasmus + collaborative partnership that Ud’A is involved in is the #DARE O (#Digital Active Regions Europe – Outdoor) project. Following the European recommendations for health-enhancing physical activity and equal access to sports facilities as well as optimization of the use and availability of existing infrastructure #DARE-O aims to promote health-enhancing physical activity and optimize the availability of existing infrastructure all across the EU by, digitizing, localizing and personalizing existing outdoor fitness sites with an App and developing a program, focused in promoting physical activity behaviours outdoors to relevant stakeholders such as EU citizens, municipalities, universities, schools, sport associations and more.