Lovely Professional University has bagged a project of INR 9 Crores from the prestigious European Commission to lead a consortium of 11 universities to research Sports Education in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia under the Erasmus plus project. This initiative is aimed at capacity building in the field of Sports, Physiotherapy, and Physical Education through research and community development. Out of the 1005 applications that the project received from across the globe, LPU became the only university from India to be designated the lead coordinator.
The European Union’s Erasmus+ program is a funding scheme to support activities in the fields of education, training, youth, and sport. Erasmus+ funds academic mobility and cooperation projects that involve partners from “Programme Countries” and “Partner Countries” throughout the world. Erasmus+ supports activities that are closely matched with the EU’s priorities for cooperation policy with partner countries and regions. This is the third time in a row that LPU has won the Erasmus grant. The other universities which are a part of the consortium led by LPU include International School of Business & Research, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Edulab educational exchange, Bogor agricultural university, Syiah Kuala University, Indonesia, Universitat Politecnica De Valencia, Universidade De Lisboa, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, University of Peradeniya, and Universitas Syiah Kuala.
Under this project, the consortium will research models and strategies followed for imparting sports education at different levels of education (higher, vocational, secondary, and primary) in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It will be conducted in voluntary convergence with the industry and the learnings from the research will be shared with educational institutions and policymakers, the European Commission, and also various government bodies to improve social inclusion in sports. The project was led by Supriya Mathew, Deputy Director, International Affairs under the guidance of Aman Mittal, Head Division of International Affairs, LPU.
The project will address the challenges that adversely impact the delivery of quality education in sports and employability in the sector. It will support the modernization, innovation, and accessibility of physiotherapy, sports, and physical education and endorse sports and its diverse applications in these countries. The consortium will also study the dynamics between sports and social inclusion and will put the learnings into practice. The project is also aimed at merging the conceptual and practical links between sports and health. This will enable development for future research and practice.
Ashok Mittal, Chancellor, Lovely Professional University said, “It is a moment of pride for us to be the only university from the country to lead an Erasmus project. Sports can actually lead to social inclusion for many. I am confident that this project will help provide a boost to sports and physiotherapy in our country.”
Sports has always been a prime focus for LPU. To promote inclusion in sports, LPU offers scholarships as high as 100% fee waiver and provides world-class training and facilities. Some of the leading Indian athletes including – the Indian Boxing Champion, Manju Rani who scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman boxer in 18 years to enter the finals of Women’s World Boxing Championship in her maiden appearance and Unnati Sharma who won Silver Medal in National Senior Ranking Judo Championship 2019, have been the students of LPU. The university has also recently emerged as a champion amongst all the private universities in the country by bagging 23 medals (i.e. 9 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals) in Khelo India University Games 2020.
