VQR Third Mission Ranking places UniPD in Second Place among Italy’s
30.05.2022
“The openness of the University towards the socio-economic context through the valorization and transfer of knowledge” is the definition of the Third Mission according to the National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System (ANVUR). The same agency introduces the Self-assessment, Periodic Evaluation, Accreditation (AVA) that recognizes all respects as universities' institutional mission, including that which follows alongside teaching and research activities.
The University of Padua ranks second among Italian mega universities and twelfth at the national level in the ANVUR evaluation for the VQR Third Mission, which analyzed some case studies (equal to half the number of its Departments) whose social, economic and cultural impact was verifiable in the 2015-2019 period. Case studies related to the Third Mission are based on a set of activities with which the institutions collaborates and interacts with the local community and society at large that are complementary to traditional teaching and research mission activities. Each institution presented one or more case studies selected from ten fields of action (depending on their size). Actions range from academic entrepreneurship, technology transfer, scientific dissemination, open teaching, and innovative tools for Open science, to activities related to the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The 64 initiatives implemented by the University of Padua (for 2015-2019) and proposals to the Commission for the Quality Presidium of the Third Mission (CPQTM) are sent to ANVUR in the form of a case study.
Of the 16 selected cases, 15 were evaluated with the 'Excellent' metric and the Sustainable UniPadova case carried out by the Communication and Marketing area, was evaluated with the 'Excellent and extremely relevant' metric. The project proposed by ANVUR as a best practice on a national level is based on the following motivation: "The governance of the Sustainable Padua Project is highly innovative, effective, and proves to be a best practice at a national level."
Monica Fedeli, University of Padua Vice-Rector of the Third Mission and Regional Relations, 'The data made public by ANVUR highlights the positive result put forth by the University in the context of the Third Mission and represents a new important milestone for us. The third mission represents the social impact and commitment that the university demonstrates, shares, and implements in its actions that affect the community at a regional, national and international level. These results show the University’s actions for society and its people in terms of sharing strategic lines that promote well-being, sustainability and open communication with the organizations that encompass it.
Fabrizio Dughiero, University of Padua Vice-Rector of Innovation and Business Relations, 'These results are a source of great satisfaction. The cases we presented are a cross-section of what our University is, considered a general University, and that has achieved excellent results in all areas of the third mission: from technology transfer to public engagement, from public health to protection of cultural heritage, such areas have proven to be excellent. This is the path that the University of Padua has taken, a path that combines research and its excellent quality of teaching with a third mission that has become increasingly important and making it possible for people to perceive how fundamental the role of the University is for the social and economic growth of our local region and community.
