The FISU World Forum was initially set to take place at the University of Physical Education in Budapest, but was moved online due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The event has the theme "Seventy years onward and still going strong: How can FISU continue sustaining the University Sports Movement’s legacy?".

FISU has said that 1,200 participants have so far registered for the virtual event, which is due to take place from August 12 to 14.

Half of those to have registered to date are students, with 40 per cent being officials from FISU’s member federations.

Over 100 participants are from the extended FISU family.

"Every two years, the FISU World Forum offers an opportunity for the entire FISU family to gather and to exchange ideas, contacts, and good practices in the field of university sports," said Dr Verena Burk, chair of the FISU Education Committee.

"Despite this year’s situation worldwide, I am pleased that the FISU World Forum will be hosted digitally.

"This pioneering event organised by FISU, the Hungarian University Sports Federation as well as the University of Physical Education of Budapest will allow students, officials and other partners involved in the University Sports Movement to share their respective vision and experiences."

The FISU World Forum will be opened by FISU President Oleg Matytsin, with contributions from Tünde Szabó, Lajos Mocsai and Verena Burk.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will reportedly also speak at the start of the event.

Matytsin will participate in the opening panel discussion on "70 years of FISU", which will focus on sustainability and legacy.

IOC member and former Hungarian President Pál Schmitt will be among the participants, along with Burk and double Olympic fencing silver medallist Jenő Kamuti.

Panel discussions will also focus on the FISU Global Strategy, Inclusion in University Sport and Challenges in University Sport during the three-day event, with the coronavirus pandemic set to be among the topics included in the latter.

Workshops will also take place across the three days.

The development of the new FISU brand will be discussed in the workshops, as well as the Healthy Campus initiative.

The International Day of University Sport, rankings and digitalisation will also be the subject of workshops.

FISU has said this year’s student project, which usually takes place simultaneously during the Forum, has already begun.

The pre-learning platform has been online and available since August 1.

Students are receiving guidance from the FISU Education Committee on how to develop and run a project, with the theme set to be revealed on Thursday (August 6).

"It is an exciting theme that the students can adapt their projects to," said Donna Spethman, FISU Education Committee member and FISU Oceania secretary general.

"The project theme was chosen to reflect the current environment and how sport can be a positive influence on the life of a student.

"Due to the unique environment of the Forum being online this year, we developed a pre-learning course for all students that will help them in developing their projects."

A total of 96 students from the five Continental University Sports Federations (CUSFs) and 55 countries are participating in the student projects.

In total, over 500 students have access to the e-learning platform.

Having been already placed into their groups, the students are working together on their projects which they will submit to the jury by August 13.

The jury will then review and assess each project based on a series of criteria.

The project must be considered relevant, respond to real needs and be addressed to a concrete target group, as well as being realistic in terms of scope, budget and time.

FISU said the projects must fit within the competition theme and should be innovative, while it should be deliverable at a local, national or international level.

The final projects will be presented on August 14 as part of the FISU World Forum.

The group that delivers the winning project will receive a special award from FISU and the 2020 FISU World Forum Organising Committee.

FISU say the project should help participants to gain new skills and network with other students from across the world.

The organisation say the projects can also influence the development of university sport and provide FISU with potential ideas it can develop based on the project concepts.