All ongoing Cooperation Projects
Strengthenining the QUality and Relevance of the 3rd mission in Georgian Universities - SQUARE
Project or initiative: Erasmus+ Programme
Action / Activity: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices - Capacity Building in higher education
Ref. Number: 618612-EPP-1-2020-1-GE-EPPKA2-CBHE-SP
Year: 2021
Start date: 15-01-2021
End date: 14-01-2024
Coordinator Organisation/Country: IVANE JAVAKHISHVILI TBILISI STATE UNIVERSITY - GE
News and Events
10/03/2022
SQUARE Consortium Meeting, March 10, 2022
On 10th of March, 2022, 3rd coordinating meeting between the Project Management Team members of the Erasmus + funded CBHE project Strengthening the Quality and Relevance of the 3rd mission in Georgian Universities - SQUARE was held online. During the meeting, participants summarized the first year of the project and discussed each activity of the workplan. Coordinators from GE and EU partners agreed to modify the workplan according to the recent changes caused by Covid19. Attendees also discussed the financial reporting issues of the project as each of them was given detailed feedback on the materials they have already provided. The coordinator of the project presented the report received from the National Agency of Erasmus + in Georgia and set the concrete plans to fulfill the recommendations. The attendees were introduced to the current situation of ongoing progress and challenges in terms of quality assurance, dissemination, and exploitation issues as well.
SQUARE Workshop on the current State of 3M at the Georgian Universities and counselling feedback, March 02-03 March 2022
On 2-3 March Ilia State University hosted consortium members of the Erasmus + funded CBHE project Strengthening the Quality and Relevance of the 3rd mission in Georgian Universities - SQUARE at the workshop: Current State of 3M activities at Georgian universities.
Speakers from 8 Georgian universities: GSTU, GTU, ATSU, BSU, TSMU, ISU, CU, and TSU presented the overview of third mission status at their institutions covering activities in the fields of continuous education, knowledge transfer, and social engagement.
European partners of the consortium shared their experience while counseling and mentoring Georgian peers. They described the processes with main challenges and perspectives.
One of the highlights of the workshop was the study NCEQE has presented regarding the 3rd mission state in European standards. Both Georgian and European members of the project consortium were delighted to discuss the outcomes of the study.
During the 2-days workshop participants were given the opportunity to discuss each other’s experiences and conclude from where to continue the project.
26/01/2022
Presentation of the SQUARE project at the Annual International Conference of National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, January 26, 2022
On 26th of January, Dr. Irma Grdzelidze, project coordinator, presented a report at the annual international conference of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement about the SQUARE project. More than 200 people from Georgian and European, as well as American universities attended the conference.
SQUARE Mentoring sessions on 3M mapping between UNL-GTU and UNL-GSTU, November 3 and 17, 2021
Following the ice-breaking meeting that took place in October 19th, UNL scheduled with their correponded Georgian (GE) Partners (GSTU and GTU) mentoring sessions that would take place via zoom on November 3rd and 17th.
The sessions had as primer objetive the consultation and feedback on 3rd Mission (3M) activities identification and finalizing the 3M maps, under workpackage 1.
Overall the feedback was positive, the sessions allowed the participants to have a holistic vision about the topic, trying to capture as much activities as possible, to be further discussed and fine-tuned according to the specific context of the University itself and the region where it is inserted.
20/10/2021
SQUARE Start of the Mentoring and Ice-Breaking Meetings, October 19-20, 2021
In the framework of the WP1, in order to successfully finish working on the inventory and mapping of the 3M activities and prepare a report, European partners of the project start the mentoring process. Each European partner is involved in the activity and is mentoring two Georgian universities. On October 19 and 20, Ice-Breaking meetings via zoom were organized between Georgian universities, their European mentors and the coordinator of the project - four individual meetings were held. During the meetings, participants discussed their expectations from the mentoring process, input from European partners and the details of the working process.
The mentoring will continue until December and will result in the finalized inventory and mapping and reports on 3M. In January, the WP1 will be concluded by the conference.
SQUARE Training in Batumi, July 5-6, 2021
On July 5 and 6, Batumi State University hosted the second phase of the training in the framework of the Erasmus+ project SQUARE. The training was delivered by the project partners from CNAM and UTU.
The training had a hybrid format, as two of the partner institutions – UTU and UNL could not physically attend the training, due to the regulations. Georgian partner institutions had the chance to reflect on their third mission activities, the mapping of 3M activities prepared before the training and the 3M skills and resources. Discussions were held and the European partners presented their feedback and view about the 3M projects, skills and resources. The Georgian partners will continue working to finalize the 3M maps and implement other activities of the project.
SQUARE Project Management Team Meeting, April 13, 2021
The first meeting of the Project Management Team (PMT) was held online on April 13, 2021.
The PMT members discussed the progress of the project implementation and further steps. The dates for training, phase 2 were set. The PMT also approved the Quality Board and discussed other project-related issues – deadlines for the activities, the timeline of the project, etc.
Kick-off meeting of the SQUARE project, February 17-18, 2021
The meeting to kick-off the project “SQUARE - Strengthening the Quality and Relevance of the 3rd mission in Georgian Universities” took place on February 17 and 18, 2021 via zoom from Georgia. This is an Erasmus + Capacity Building project within the scope of Higher Education.
Aiming to improve the quality and relevance of the 3rd mission at the Universities of Georgia, the project will take place between January 2021 and October 2023.
NOVA University Lisbon is one of the four European partner institutions of the consortium, which is led by Tbilisi State University, together with nine other partner institutions in Georgia.
