It has already been demonstrated that students’ health is particularly at risk during their academic years. In order to promote a healthy lifestyle for university citizens, the university must strive to create an appropriate environment. One of the aims of the International University Sports Federation ( Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire)(FISU), supported by the International Olympic Committee, is to provide students with opportunities to participate in physical activity for their health and well-being. Healthy Campus is a global programme that covers a range of areas, not just physical activity. FISU aims to help integrate health into all aspects of campus culture and provide solutions to improve the lifestyle and well-being of the campus community.
The programme covers a specific period of two years, during which the university follows a nine-step set of requirements to reach the final assessment, which leads to the degree and qualification it has achieved. In the latest FISU Healthy Campus list, the University of Debrecen has been ranked in the top tier of the world elite, achieving a platinum rating.
- It was already clear when the previous gold grade was awarded that the University of Debrecen had the potential to reach the highest level of the rating system, so it was only a matter of time before we achieved the platinum grade. This is an outstanding achievement, and excellent feedback from one of the world's leading sporting organisations, and we are very proud of it. This confirms the long-term concept of providing not only high quality studies, but also the opportunity to improve the quality of life through sport, culture, community, food, everything that affects everyday well-being," Zoltán Bács, Chancellor of the University of Debrecen, told hirek.unideb.hu.
One hundred criteria have been identified for the seven main pillars of Healthy Campus (HC), which must be met. Universities are ranked according to how well they meet these criteria.
- Supporting documents were constantly uploaded and used as a basis for ongoing communication with HC managers. So far, we have fulfilled 95 of them, which put us among the best. From all the continents of the world, only 38 institutions are in the elite group, while only 138 universities have made it to the certification process itself. It is a great honour that the University of Debrecen is mentioned alongside institutions such as King's College London, La Trobe University in Melbourne, Peking University in China, the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Calgary University in Canada. And what is very important is that we are not saying this about ourselves, but that we are being audited by an international, elite, highly experienced auditing body," said the Director of the Institute for the Coordination of Sport Science. , University of Debrecen.
László Balogh added that when the University of Debrecen's management started to develop and implement a programme a few years ago which was essentially the university's sports concept and aimed, among other things, at ensuring the well-being of university citizens, the Healthy Campus programme did not even exist.
A- It has been proven that in a "healthy campus", in addition to the quality of education and university facilities, other activities aimed at maintaining health and quality of life are also important. This is not just about sport and physical activity, there are many sub-dimensions, including nutrition, mental and social health, education, sustainability and so on. The aim is not to compete, but to incorporate good practices into our everyday lives that can only benefit everyone, including students, teachers, and all university staff and even national institutions. This platinum grade is excellent feedback for us that we are on the right track, and it also motivates us further. Our work is far from over, our goal is continuous improvement, we see where we could make further progress and we have plans for the future. In autumn, a delegation of three people from FISU will be coming to see our good practices, which can serve as a global example for other universities to follow. Last but not least, this achievement will translate into extra points in international academic rankings," the Director concluded.
Hungary has one more institution on the FISU list, with the Hungarian University of Physical Education and Sport Sciences still in bronze.
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