EUDAPA: Academic, social and employment assessment of an international programme

The European Diploma in Adapted Physical Activity (EUDAPA) is an international program focused on the adapted physical activity (APA) field. Students and teachers come from different places around the world in order to share. The aim of this study was to assess the opinion of EUDAPA alumni about the influence of the programme in their applied APA professional knowledge, competences, skills, socialization, and future employment capability. An ad hoc questionnaire was developed from a proposed evaluation of those skills, which was assessed and validated through experts opinion. Thereafter, the tool was sent by email to all of the 136 alumni who took part in the programme between the years 2010 and 2016. Seventy answers were received andthen analysed. The results showed that EUDAPA is a programme where the student becomes an APA professional with strong sense of self perception for positive change in the community. Additionally, the students improved their skills, highlighting that EUDAPA is an example of good practice in APA training, because of the academic, social, and employment benefits that they gain from the programme. In conclusion, EUDAPA alumni assessed that EUDAPA has improved their professional skills and due to the exchange possibilities, graduates acquired new social skills and job opportunities.