40 students from Tecnun are participating this year in a new edition of the Sports Talent program, promoted by the Olympic Studies Center of the University of Navarra. The goal of the program is to offer comprehensive training to competitive athletes, providing them with the necessary support so that they can combine their studies with professional sports practice.

It is worth noting that engineering students at Tecnun play sports in 18 different disciplines, such as ice hockey, motorcycling, football, golf, tennis, ice figure skating, paddle tennis, basketball, roller hockey, swimming, hockey, water polo, athletics, horse riding, alpine skiing, rhythmic gymnastics, Olympic rowing, football refereeing and handball.

In total, 120 students from 30 different disciplines are taking part in the University of Navarra's programme this year.

Eduardo Prieto Iglesias, from Pamplona and student of the master's degree in Industrial Engineering at Tecnun-, is a referee in LaLiga Santander, 1st national soccer division. Prieto is participating in the program for the first time and says that, in order to combine his studies with professional sports activity, "a lot of organization and efficiency" is necessary. "If the program did not exist, I would have enormous difficulties and I would be forced to choose," he adds.

Talento Deportivo allows students to use the financial aid of their professors to coordinate the academic schedule (theory classes, practical workshops, exams, etc.) with the practice of the sports disciplines in which they are federated. Students can obtain two credits per course and up to six over the entire course of study. These athletes have three annual sessions on nutrition, sports psychology, attendance medical and a complete training to know the sports field as a whole.  

The students will be part of and will act as ambassadors of yearbook sports, an initiative of Sports Service of the University that aims to publicize all students who practice sports whether they are federated or not. 

The opening ceremony was held yesterday at sports center and was attended by the Alumni Vice President , Tomás Gómez-Acebo. The director of the Sports Service, Javier Trigo, stressed that the main thing for the student has to be the study, "because the goal is that all of them finish their careers in an excellent way", he said. At the same time, he invited them not to neglect sports practice. The Alumni Vice President , Tomás Gómez-Acebo, closed the ceremony by thanking the participants: "We trust you, that's why we put the Sports Talent seal on you; because you know how to look at others and think about the team, effort and work".