On March 2-3, within the framework of the European Commission-funded Erasmus + project - Strengthening the Quality and Relevance of the 3rd mission in Georgian Universities“(SQUARE)“ consortium meeting was held, which was hosted online by Ilia State University.
During the two-day workshop, project partners delivered presentations on the current state of 3M and inventory reports at the universities. From Caucasus University, the report was presented by Matsatso Tepnadze, Head of Research and Data Analysis office. Irena Melua, Director of the International Relations and Projects Department, also attended the meeting. It should be noted that Caucasus University was mentored by members of the EFMD team during the preparation of the report. The EFMD experts positively evaluated the work done by the University in the part of the university evaluation of the activities of the third mission, as well as the university processes and projects related to the third mission in general.
While working on the 3M project, Caucasus University developed an approach aimed at assessing the strategic effectiveness of the 3rd Mission and identifying the socio-economic and cultural impact of university activities in the country. The abovementioned approach was named by experts as the best practice to be used in international projects in the future.
In the concluding part of the meeting, a representative of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement presented a comparative study of the evaluation of the third mission by the European Higher Education Quality Assurance Agencies.
The purpose of the "Third Mission" project is to improve the quality and relevance of the third mission of universities, which involves increasing the role of universities in the socio-economic development of society.
The project involves 8 Georgian and 3 European universities, the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, and the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement. The coordinator of the project is Tbilisi State University.
Under the scope of the project, Georgian universities, in cooperation with international partners, will develop methodologies and guidelines for planning, implementation, and evaluation of the third mission, as well as develop a strategy for the third mission. The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, and the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement will update the quality assurance system and integrate activity evaluation with quality assurance standards. The project will also help raise awareness about the universities' third mission. It is important that each project of the third mission will be piloted at each one of the project consortium member universities.
