Education, research, teaching evaluation methods, and relationships with international organizations were the main topics discussed on San Marino during the third meeting of the Network of Universities of Small States and Territories, of which the University of the Republic of San Marino is one of the founding academic institutions.
In the presence of Rectors and staff from the universities of Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Malta, Montenegro, and Nicosia (Cyprus), joined via web link by representatives from the Universities of Akureyri (Iceland), Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, and Greenland, participants were welcomed on Wednesday, October 20, by a speech by Rector Corrado Petrocelli, who suggested several priority areas on which to unite efforts: "I encourage the Network to consider the possibility of joining forces to identify an external agency for the evaluation of teaching quality, one that takes into account and is aware of the specificities of academic institutions located and operating in small territories," he explained during the annual meeting.
After mentioning the opportunity to work together on new projects and encourage faculty and student mobility, Petrocelli also invited participants to consider working as a single entity, rather than as individual universities, in their relationships with large-scale organizations such as the International Association of Universities, the European University Association, and the European Higher Education Area, which works to ensure comparability, compatibility, and coherence among member state systems, including Italy.
The Network's work was covered by the University's radio station, Usmaradio. The meetings were attended by the University of San Marino's Director General, Isabella Bizzocchi, the Director of the Research Center for International Relations, Michele Chiaruzzi, and the Head of the Internationalization Office, Elena D'Amelio.
