21 students from all universities within the UNITA Alliance joined Turin on May 26 to 29 to attend the first matching event UNITA SUISM Games and University life. The event, organised in the framework of UNITA task 2.1-Sustainable policies for students and staff, combined institutional, cultural, and sporting activities, creating a dynamic environment for exchange and collaboration among participants.
Students were officially welcomed at the historic Rectorate building of the University of Turin before taking part in social and cultural moments organised together with the Erasmus Student Network of Turin, including a guided tour of the city and informal networking activities.
A central part of the initiative was dedicated to the VII edition of the SUISM Games, the sports event organised by the UniTo School of Sport Science.
The Games involved around 250 participants, who engaged in competitions and team-based activities in disciplines such as athletics, basketball, and beach volleyball, fostering cooperation, team spirit, and mutual support.
Nada Alkhazraj from Trasilvania University of Brasov earned first place in the women’s 60 metres with a time of 8.68 seconds, while Chiara Bonomini from University of Brescia secured first place in the women’s 1000 metres with a time of 3 minutes and 38 seconds. Congratulations go to both athletes for their remarkable performances and dedication.
A particularly innovative part of the programme was the Matching Event activity, organised during the third day to co-design innovative solutions for student welfare. Four mixed teams of UNITA students worked together on real campus challenges, such as green mobility, digital welfare, healthy eating, and peer-to-peer sports mentoring, and developed concrete proposals based on the bio-psycho-social well-being model. Guided by the SMAART criteria, on the final day the students presented their final project pitches directly to UniTo’s Governance, delivering highly scalable ideas for the entire Alliance.
In addition, as part of the SAMBA project of UniTo, students completed the SAMBA Assessment, a survey designed to evaluate their psychological and emotional well-being. The project aims to promote students’ mental and physical health and prevent psychological distress by strengthening existing support services and developing new initiatives.
The first edition of the SUISM Games proved to be much more than a sporting event: it represented an important opportunity for cultural exchange, international cooperation, and the strengthening of relationships among students from across the UNITA Alliance. Through sport, teamwork, and shared experiences, participants were able to build meaningful connections and embody the values of inclusion, collaboration, and European integration.
Students’ posters
