Information about a piece of news titled Hege Heiestad is defending her PhD thesis on the 3rd of November 2026
Hege Heiestad is defending her PhD thesis on the 3rd of November 2026
Intoduction
Hege Heiestad will defend her doctorial thesis: “Prep to be PRO — building talent without burning it”. An educational programme for specialized sports schools.
Disputas: Tuesday November 3rd 2026
Place: Norges Idrettshøgskole (Norwegian School of Sport Sciences): Auditorium Innsikt
Time: Trial lecture: 10.15 – 11.00: Title trial lecture to be decided on October 20th
Time: Thesis Defence: 13.00 – 16-00: “Prep to be PRO — building talent without burning it”. An educational programme for specialised sports schools”
Language: Norwegian
Committee:
Committee chair: Professor Lene Anette Hagen Haakstad, Norwegian School of Sports Science
1st opponent: Ulrika Tranæus, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm
2nd opponent: Geir-Kåre Resaland, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Supervisors:
Main supervisor: Grethe Myklebust, PhD PT, Professor, Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Co-supervisor: Christine Holm Moseid, PhD MD,Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
WHAT IS THE PROJECT ABOUT (SHORT SUMMARY):
The dissertation was informed by previous research indicating that young, ambitious athletes may be particularly vulnerable to health- and training load-related challenges, including injuries, illness, and insufficient recovery. In response to these findings, Prep to be PRO was developed in close collaboration with Norwegian sports schools as a health-promoting and athlete development-oriented educational programme. The overarching aim was to strengthen students’ capacity to manage their own health, make informed decisions, and support their long-term development as athletes. The dissertation’s primary contribution lies in demonstrating how existing research-based knowledge can be translated into a curriculum-integrated educational programme, and in examining how the programme is received and implemented in Norwegian sports schools.
ARTICLES:
Article 1: Heiestad H, Myklebust G, Bahr R, Moseid CH. (2025). Making, not breaking the young, aspiring athlete: the development of Prep to be PRO (Nærmere Best) – a Norwegian school-based educational programme. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine;11:e002388. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002388
Article 2: Heiestad, H., Myklebust, G., Bahr, R., & Moseid, C. H. (2026). Implementing Prep to be PRO-Bridging the gap between design and delivery. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. Oct;29(11):1196-1204.