Dear friends of sport,

Whilst the days have become much shorter now, there is not less happening around us. Rather the contrary! It is impossible for us to cover the many upcoming events from our network in this newsletter, so please also go to our calendar section on the website which will give you the full picture. 

In this newsletter you can read how academic excellence from the Lausanne region supported the delivery of the educational programme for the 4000 athletes at the Youth Olympic Games last month in Buenos Aires. We are also highlighting two initiatives which aim to increase physical activity levels among the public. Smatch is a new application developed by two students in Lausanne, which helps you to find new sports buddies to get off the couch. In addition, FISU has launched its “Healthy Campus” project, aimed at improving overall healthy lifestyles and sport activities on campuses worldwide. With anti-doping remaining a hot topic, we also inform about a new, compact education programme in this field, rolled out by the University of Lausanne's Center of Research and Expertise in anti-Doping sciences (REDs), in cooperation with AISTS.

October was also a very sad month for the world of international sport. We mourn Patrick Baumann, who passed away during the Youth Olympic Games. With him, we have lost a friend and dynamic leader – he leaves a huge void and will be sadly missed. Our thoughts are with his family.

Yours Anna Hellman, Director of ThinkSport