Instituto Politécnico de Santarém (Escola Superior de Desporto de Rio Maior) - PORTUGAL

The Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior (Escola Superior de Desporto de Rio Maior – RMU), is a public Portuguese higher education school integrated in the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém (Instituto Politécnico de Santarém – IPS), Portugal. ESDRM was established in 1997 and presently has approximately 100 staff members and 800 students. This young institution is focuses in Sport and Exercise Sciences, in the fields of higher education, research and lifelong learning.

The school provides six graduation programmes (1st cycle), two master degree programmes (2nd cycle) and several short term programmes (which do not provide a degree) on the following subjects: Sports Coaching, Fitness and Health, Outdoor Sports, Nature Tourism, Sports Psychology, Sports Management, Physical Activity and Special Populations, and Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyle (European bachelor Programme, taught in English).

The School has a Sports Research Centre (LID) including the areas of Physiology, Biomechanics, Motor Control, Sport Management, Sport Psychology and Sport Pedagogy, and ESDRM staff is also involved in other research centres, as members or PhD students, such as: 1) UI-IPS – The Research Unit of IPS; 2) CIDESD – Centre for Research in Sports, Health & Human Development. ESDRM is part of the consortium that created this centre, supported by FCT, the National Foundation for Science & Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia); 3) CIEQV – Quality of Life Research Centre, within a consortium made by the Polytechnic Institutes of Santarém and Leiria; 4) CI&DETS – Centre for the Study of Education, Technologies and Health – Polytechnic Institute of Viseu; and 5) CIPER – Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance – Faculty of Human Kinetics – University of Lisbon, supported by FCT.

ESDRM has a strong connection with the community, through its professional services, that help to develop: Sport and Fitness Assessments and Sport Monitoring, Sport Organisations Management, Sport Events, Tourism Organisations, Exercise Programmes in Municipalities, Life Long Learning courses, among other services, by partnering us in research, consultancy, new technologies and services and recruiting ESDRM students and graduates for placements or employment. ESDRM very new academic and sport facilities are also available for conferences and other events.