First week of 2018, the International “Conference on Dual Career of European students-athletes: Time for a change” took place in Banska Bystrica with participation of representatives of American, Russian and European College Hockey and project partners from different European countries including Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia. This Conference was the initial event of international project supported by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. The main goal of the Conference consisted in sharing knowledge, best practices and experiences while learning from different systems of the dual career of hockey players in various academic environments among representatives of global regions and project partners. Networking events were dedicated to discussions about future cooperation on the global level focused on solving common challenges.

Alongside the Conference, the selections from the European University Hockey League, Russian Student Hockey League and American Collegiate Hockey Association played for the first World Cup of College Hockey. This sport event was an unique opportunity for students-athletes to build new global relations and friendships.

All outcomes of the conferences and roundtable discussions will be provided on the official website www.students-athetes.eu