The “College of Education” and the “Philosophy Department” of the “College of Humanities and Social Sciences” in the “UAE University” organized, in partnership with “Abu Dhabi Sports Council” (ADSC), and in cooperation with “Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club” the “First International Conference in Embodied Cognition and Sport Psychology”, in the “College of Information Technology” at the new campus in “Al Ain” city on (24/2/2104) for four days. A group of researchers and practitioners of “Performance Psychology” and “Cognitive Neuroscience” experts, along with coaches and athletes from various disciplines, from the State and abroad, were invited to the conference.
His Excellency “Mohamed E. Al Mahmood”, Secretary General of (ADSC), stressed the importance of the strategic cooperation between the council and the university, whose status as a research institution is beneficial in this field. This cooperation provides a big opportunity for the development of new educational programs in the field of “Sport Psychology and Embodied Cognition”, in addition to the importance of utilizing the role of the university in enriching the sports arena with useful scientific research and academic studies that enrich sports and athletes, and to create new job opportunities in the field of sports for the Emirati youth.
Professor “Saif Al Qaydi”, Dean of College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said that the college is seeking to invest in its partnerships with the various authorities and institutions and build bridges of cooperation. This international conference came as a response to the aspirations of the “UAE”, to achieve its national vision, support sustainable development in the sports field, build an innovative perspective, play a pioneering role in the competitive sports world, enhance the opportunities in order to exchange experiences among researchers, practitioners, experts and athletes, and to give the chance to students to make use of the participating sports’ expertise.
Dr. “Max Cappuccio”, Head of the “Scientific Council” of the conference, and coordinator of the “Multidisciplinary Cognitive Science” in the “UAE University”, stressed that this cooperation has many immediate and palpable benefits, where scientists and coaches will work on understanding the mechanism of controlling sport skills in reality through the mind.
This scientific project comes under the umbrella of two unique scientific programs offered by the university; first is the “Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science” and the second is “The New Program in Physical Education”.
The four-day-conference includes several activities. For instance, Dr. “Roland A. Carlstedt”, a professor at “Harvard Medical School” and Chairman of the “American Board of Sport Psychology”, delivered one of the keynote speeches; many researches were presented by international researchers, the scientific laboratory at “Al Ain Gulf Club”, and many other field training sessions on the training methodologies and the techniques and mental preparation.