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SEK International Sports Academy, together with Universidad Camilo José Cela, CUHMED and SEK International Schools, took part in Sports Summit Madrid, one of the major professional gatherings for the sports industry, held at IFEMA Madrid on 17 and 18 June.
SEK Education Group’s presence at this forum provided an opportunity to share its model of academic and sporting support, showcase the talent of its students and reinforce its commitment to an education that integrates sport, innovation, technology and personal development.
The participation included a round table on education and high-dedication sport, as well as the presence of five SEK-Catalunya teams in the national final of F1 in Schools, in a competition that brought together 36 qualifying teams from across Spain.
A key event for the sports industry
Sports Summit Madrid has established itself as a leading space for connecting professionals, institutions, companies, federations, clubs, athletes and projects linked to the sports industry. This edition brought together specialised content, networking spaces, exhibition activity, an employment programme, conferences and experiences linked to innovation in sport. It also coincided with MADCUP, strengthening Madrid’s role as a meeting point for sport, education, young talent and new professional opportunities.
For SEK International Sports Academy, Universidad Camilo José Cela and SEK International Schools, taking part in Sports Summit Madrid represents an opportunity to continue positioning an educational model that understands sport not only as competition, but as a space for learning, growth and preparation for the future.
Education and high-dedication sport
One of the highlights of SEK Education Group’s participation was the round table “Education and high-dedication sport: how to combine academic development and a sporting career”, moderated by Aitor Canibe, Director General of the Fundación Deporte Joven.
The session featured José Luis Lesma, Sports Director at SEK Education Group; Cristina Calvo, head of PROAD at the Spanish National Sports Council; Raúl Entrerríos, former captain of the Spanish national handball team and alumnus of Universidad Camilo José Cela; and Anita Luján, futsal player and UCJC student in the SEK International Sports Academy programme.
The conversation addressed one of the major challenges faced by high-dedication athletes: how to combine a demanding sporting career with a solid academic education and real preparation for professional life.
Supporting people, not just sporting careers
During the round table, Cristina Calvo underlined the importance of supporting athletes, a process that should not begin when their sporting life comes to an end, but from the earliest stages. From this perspective, she argued that dual careers should be understood as a process of continuous support, aimed at enabling athletes to build an academic, personal and professional project beyond competition.
Along the same lines, it was noted that abandoning education during the sporting stage can lead to later difficulties in entering the labour market, as well as challenges related to the athlete’s identity when competition comes to an end. The goal is not only to support sporting careers, but to support people who have sporting careers.
This vision is directly connected to the SEK International Sports Academy model, which seeks to offer student-athletes a flexible, personalised and demanding environment capable of responding to their academic and sporting needs.
A model based on flexibility, rigour and support
José Luis Lesma explained that one of the programme’s major lessons has been the need to involve teachers in the reality of high-dedication athletes. The key, he noted, lies in understanding that many students do not miss class because of a lack of commitment, but because their training sessions, competitions and travel require them to organise themselves differently.
For this reason, the programme works with adaptations, individualised monitoring, academic support and emotional guidance. The aim is not to lower standards, but to provide the necessary tools so that athletes can meet those standards in conditions compatible with their reality.
Lesma also highlighted that the programme, with more than 30 years of experience at SEK Education Group, currently supports more than 100 student-athletes at SEK schools, some at elite or high-performance level and others in the process of reaching that level of competitive dedication.
The dual career as a project for the future
The round table highlighted that academic education should not be understood as an alternative to sport, but as an essential part of the athlete’s overall development.
Raúl Entrerríos stressed that the values acquired through sport — such as perseverance, effort, adaptability, teamwork and the ability to manage pressure — are highly transferable skills in the professional world.
It was also underlined that athletes who manage to combine education and competition develop particularly valuable skills for companies and organisations: discipline, resilience, goal orientation, humility, responsibility and the ability to work with others in demanding environments.
Sport, technology and education to develop talent
SEK Education Group’s presence at Sports Summit Madrid reflects a vision shared by SEK International Sports Academy, Universidad Camilo José Cela and SEK International Schools: sport is an educational platform of enormous value for developing people who are prepared for demanding, changing and global contexts.
From the dual career of high-dedication athletes to STEM learning applied to motorsport, participation in this forum made it possible to show how education can support talent from a holistic perspective.
For SEK Education Group, educating athletes, students and future professionals means offering them opportunities to develop academic, personal, technological and professional skills. The challenge is not to choose between studying or competing, but to build environments that allow students to grow in both dimensions with support, flexibility and rigour.
