For the seventh time spring brings a fresh gust of air to students and professors of the Physical Activity and Lifestyle (PAL) study programme meaning there will be a chance to meet, work, study, investigate, and share the experiences with colleagues from abroad in the frame of international intensive study week. For many participants this may be as a starting platform for networking and may lead to fruitful liaisons for cooperation in future career perspectives.
The international intensive PAL study programmes had been initiated in 2015 at Polytechnic Institute of Santarém – School of Sport of Rio Maior (Rio Maior, Portugal). Later this annual event took place at Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Gronningen, the Netherlands) in 2016. A year after the group of PAL students and lecturers from the Netherlands and Portugal came to Kaunas to the 3rd International Week (IW) organized by LSU. The 4th and 5th IW were at InHolland University of Applied Sciences (Haarlem, the Netherlands) and again in Rio Maior, Portugal in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Last year it was being organized to take place at LSU again, but at the final moment, it had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide. Nevertheless, with the joint efforts of PAL colleagues the event was modified to be of online format and transformed into the International PAL Day 2020. Based on the positive feedback from the participants and having the quarantine restrictions in act in many countries around the globe, in 2021 the PAL network team had accustomed to the conditions of “new reality” even for the studies, and developed an online PAL module “Combined Lifestyle Interventions in COVID-19 Times” (1 ECTS) on April 16-28th. The course was of high interest and during the first week of registration, 42 students from 7 countries have already submitted their applications. There will be guest speakers from five European countries to lecture about topics related to lifestyle factors as physical activity, stress reduction and nutrition. They will talk about the difficulties of changing behavior and the role of Physical activity and lifestyle professionals.
Those who would like to see the presentations (without acquiring the study credit points) are welcomed to join the program (see the more detailed information here): PAL online lectures (Spring 2021)
Let’s feel part of an international PAL family!
In photo: the glimpse from the international PAL network members from Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Norway and Check Republic meeting online to finalize the intensive study module development
Based on the information from PAL study program tutor Rita Gruodytė-Račienė, PhD
