Welcome to the #EELISATeamSpirit campaign, an inspiring journey across the EELISA network that celebrates the remarkable individuals who embody the values at the heart of our alliance.
Each week, we’ll highlight champions from a different EELISA institution, showcasing their dedication to innovation, collaboration, sustainability, and more.
Join us on this exciting campaign as we travel through our member universities, meet these exceptional figures, and build a path that unites us all in celebrating the qualities that drive us forward.
Amélie Leussier
“Campuses, cities, playgrounds – International competitions, sports & events must inspire diversity, accessibility and respect.”
Amélie is disability coordinator at Université PSL. Committed and passionate, she works daily to set up an inclusive university. Respect for diversity and the rights of disabled people are at the heart of her missions. Within the IDEA division, she works daily to combat discrimination and promote a culture of respect and equality in all aspects of our establishment. These universal values of sharing are reflected in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. For her and her colleagues, the Games must inspire diversity, accessibility and respect.
Amélie integrates the Equality value, helping students on a daily basis towards a more inclusive university and society.
Jesús Oliván Mallén
“Getting to know different countries, cultures, and people is always an added value for personal growth and development”.
Jesús is professor of Athletics and Training Methodology at INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). In addition, he serves as Director of the Student Athlete Care Unit and as Vice-Dean for Quality, Internationalization, and Sustainability at INEF, a position he has held since February 2023.
As a former Olympic long jumper, Jesús represented Spain in the Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. His athletic achievements include multiple championships in both indoor and outdoor long jump and earning the prestigious Seven Stars award from the Madrid regional government in 1987.
His experiences as an Olympic athlete further reinforce his belief in respecting other cultures and embracing diverse perspectives, values that he actively promotes in his academic and athletic career.
Lena Bärlocher
“When you work together instead of against each other, you can perform better – everyone is welcome here, regardless of origin, social background or sporting level. Discrimination has no place here.”
Lena Bärlocher is 24 years old and is studying for a bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy at the ZHAW. Thanks to flexible options, she can combine her studies with her greatest passion: as a top athlete, she trains about 15 hours a week in the discipline of Crossfit.
Now that she feels the strong team spirit in the Crossfit community, she doesn’t imagine it any other way anymore. For her, one thing is clear: “You don’t have to be the same to be able to train together – you just have to support each other and accept everyone for who they are.” Lena firmly believes that this diversity in the community even improves individual performance, as different perspectives and approaches to training are exchanged.
Karim Abu-Omar
“Live sports events around the world are increasingly focusing on sustainability goals. While applauding these efforts, there’s a critical question on how major events can swiftly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, addressing travel emissions for participants and spectators remains a pressing challenge for future events.”
Karim Abu-Omar is a senior lecturer at the Department of Sports Science and Sport. He is also Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Physical Activity and Public Health since 2014 & takes regular part in climate protests as part of Extinction Rebellion . His current research focuses on the interrelations between physical activity promotion, climate change and planetary health. His lab group has, with the help of computer scientists, developed algorithms that allow to optimise sport leagues so that travel distances for all teams are reduced.
Alessio Novi
“Pushing limits, preserving nature – we all must commit to excellence for a sustainable future.”
Alessio holds a first master’s degree in biotechnology, a second one in Environmental Management, and a PhD in Sustainability and Innovation Management, focusing on Circular Economy. He is now part of the Sport Sustainability Group at the Institute of Management and has worked extensively on several projects related to sustainability management and sports, including athletics. Alessio integrates the Olympic value of “Determination,” arguing that goals should be pursued not only in sports performances but also in the organization of sustainable sports events. Sustainable practices (management, technology, operations) should be integrated along the entire life cycle of sports events, protecting the environment, raising awareness of sustainability topics, and ensuring athletes and fans have access to clean and safe environments, healthy food, and safe training facilities.
Matteo Caraci
“A quote by Marie Curie has been essential inspiration: “We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be achieved.” (Marie Curie, physicist, chemist, and mathematician).”
Matteo Caraci is a dedicated physics student currently in his third year at the Faculty of Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore. A graduate of Sant’Ambrogio Scientific High School in Milan, Matteo has always had a deep passion for science, drawn to its ability to explore and understand reality through rigorous and replicable methods.
Ádám Varga
“When I was a kid watching the Olympics, it never occurred to me that I might be there one time, let alone prepare for a second Olympics after having brought home a medal from the first. So for me, it mostly means that I can now do what I used to think was impossible, and that’s a pretty inspiring feeling.”
Born in Budapest in 1999, Varga began his kayaking journey at the renowned youth training club KSI.
By 2019, Ádám had reached senior level, securing a bronze and silver at the U23 World Championships. In 2021, Ádám earned a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and placed 5th at the European Championships.
This year, he continued to shine, winning gold and silver at the European Championships. Competing at the Paris Olympics, he claimed another silver medal. We are incredibly proud that Ádám has been studying Physics at BME since 2021.
Hatice Derya Abalı
“Balancing my studies in engineering with my sports career has shown me that with dedication, it’s possible to make meaningful progress in both areas.”
Hatice Derya Abalı was born in Denizli, Türkiye in 2001. She began her badminton career in 2010 and earned a place on the national team as the top women’s singles player in 2015. Since then, she has achieved numerous successes in both international and national tournaments.
Hatice Derya is currently a senior geomatics engineering student at Istanbul Technical University, where she also serves as the captain of the ITU Badminton Team. In addition to her academic and athletic commitments, she teaches badminton to primary schools students during the school year and works as a badminton coach during the summer months.
Florentina Cornelia Ivănescu
“The courage to come back after a defeat, to learn from mistakes and try again is essential.”
First-year Master’s student in Sports Performance.
Driven by her desire to practice judo at a high-performance level, she has successfully built a cyclical progression path, from participating in local competitions to National Championships, as well as European Championships, World Championships, European Cups, World Cups, Grand Slams, and Grand Prix events.
All of these attest to Miss Ivănescu Florentina Cornelia embodying the Olympic spirit of Courage and fair play.
Rémi Carmigniani
“Every detail counts when transforming field sport expertise into scientific knowledge that can benefit future generations.”
Remi is a fluid mechanics and sport passionate. Former swimmer, he has dedicated his research since 2018 on helping the French teams perform as they prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Involved in the PPR’s NePTUNE project, his goal is to develop “tailor-made” physics-based model to help top French swimmers in their quest of perfection. He developed tools and methods to help athletes and coaches monitor and evaluate their important hydrodynamic parameters and better understand their practice. He believes what we learn thanks to the current champions can be passed on to future generations as a legacy thanks to physics.
Remi integrates the Olympic value of “Excellence”, helping athlete get closer to their optimal performance through measurements and modelling.