On November 14–15, 2024, Caucasus University hosted the second annual international conference – “Addressing Third Mission in Universities: Local and Global.”

The conference was a continuation of best practices introduced within the framework of the institutional development project "Strengthening the Quality and Relevance of the Third Mission in Georgian Universities" (SQUARE), funded by the European Commission,ensuring the sustainability of the project outcomes.

The annual international conference was attended by representatives from universities in over ten countries, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of Georgia, the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, local and international donor organizations, the EU Delegation to Georgia, businesses, and civil society.

The event began with welcome speeches delivered by Irena Melua, Vice President for Internationalization at Caucasus University, Erekle Astakhishvili, Vice-Rector of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and Lasha Margishvili, Deputy Director of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement.

The keynote speech was delivered by Thomas Jorgensen, Head of Policy Coordination and Foresight at the European University Association. He discussed the role of universities in fostering innovation and their significance in implementing the third mission. Additionally, he introduced the concept "University without Walls 2030."

Throughout the conference, attendees participated in panel discussions and parallel sessions, gaining insights and sharing experiences on best practices from both local and European institutions. Topics included: Support from donor organizations to enhance universities' social engagement, Policies and practices related to the third mission at the state level, Third mission practices at the institutional level, Universities' role in social development, University-industry-government collaboration for societal development, Democratization of knowledge, Collaboration between universities and communities, The role of universities in achieving sustainable development goals, Ensuring the quality of the third mission.

Participants also discussed the current needs for improving the quality of social engagement activities at Georgian universities. Furthermore, members of the SQUARE project consortium presented the outcomes of the project's activities, existing challenges, and future plans for strengthening the third mission at the institutional level.

At the conclusion of the conference, participants had the opportunity to attend a seminar for doctoral students titled "Shaping the Future: Doctoral Education and Citizen Science in Georgia." The seminar was conducted within the framework of the project "Internationalization of Doctoral Education in Georgian Higher Education Institutions," which was funded by the second grant competition of the Competitive Innovations Fund (CIF). The consortium of Georgian universities for this project includes Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Caucasus University, and Akaki Tsereteli State University.

During the seminar, participants were introduced to key information about the project and presented with interim findings of research on doctoral education by the project leader, Professor Paul Gibbs from Middlesex University.

Simon Marte, Chair of the Council for Doctoral Education of the European University Association, delivered a keynote address at the seminar. He highlighted the connection between the role of the third mission of universities and doctoral education.