Insights from lecturer Vilija Gerasimovičienė’s internship at the University of Ljubljana
From June 3 to 17, 2025, Vilija Gerasimovičienė, a lecturer at Vilniaus kolegija (VK) and a doctoral student at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), completed an internship at the Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). The aim of the internship was to expand her academic interests in collaboration with Slovenian researchers by integrating them with practical activities.
During the two-week internship, significant progress was achieved. To deepen the topic of her doctoral dissertation, Vilija Gerasimovičienė participated in academic consultations with her mentor, Prof. Dr. Gregor Jurak (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Sport). She observed presentations of pedagogical practice by students specializing in physical education and joined open physical education activities at the preschool institution Vrtec Šentvid. Additionally, she analyzed diagnostic research conducted in four laboratories at the Faculty of Sport, focusing on high-performance athletes.
Volunteering activities were carried out in the following projects held in the cities of Maribor and Ljubljana:
- “Zmigaj!”. The project aimed at developing innovative physical activity programs in collaboration with students themselves. The goal is to encourage students to actively participate in the design and implementation of activities, thereby fostering essential competencies for a healthy lifestyle. The project is being implemented in Slovenia in cooperation with the Sports Institute Planica and the Faculty of Sport at the University of Ljubljana. More about the project: https://www.uni-lj.si/en/news/2024-01-04-almost-2-8-million-european-funds-for-innovative-student-exercise-programs
- “SLOfit” is Slovenia’s national physical fitness surveillance system. It monitors the physical and motor development of children and youth across all schools and serves as a model for integrating physical activity into education. The program provides valuable data for shaping national health policies and is considered one of the most advanced systems of its kind in Europe. More about the SLOfit: https://en.slofit.org
Slovenia was selected for this scientific internship as a continuation of international collaboration initiated during the FIEPS European Congress in April 2025 (Antalya). The congress facilitated partnerships with Slovenian researchers, enabling the strengthening of science-based cooperation in sport and paving the way for Lithuania’s involvement in the international “FitBack Europe” network.
The “FitBack Europe” network focuses on advancing physical fitness monitoring and physical literacy systems for children and adolescents. It provides personalized fitness feedback to students, parents, educators, and health professionals. Funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme, the network brings together experts from over 20 countries to foster cross-sector collaboration in education, health, and sport for long-term youth well-being.
June 16, 2025, Vilniaus Kolegija | Higher education institution is officially represented in the FitBack Europe network by PDF lecturer Vilija Gerasimovičienė, Head of the VK Sports Centre Gediminas Bražionis, and PDF lecturer Marius Eidrigevičius.
More about the FitBack Europe network:
- https://www.fitbackeurope.eu/en-us
- https://www.fitbackeurope.eu/en-us/About/Description-Resources/about-the-project#members
According to Vilija Gerasimovičienė, the international internship at the University of Ljubljana significantly enhanced her individual research competencies and contributed to structured interdisciplinary collaboration. This experience fostered academic knowledge exchange and best practice sharing within the international research community, laying the groundwork for long-term partnerships among European higher education institutions.
