Environmental Engineering

The Quality Assurance (QA) System of Sapienza is extensively described on the webpages of the Quality Team, available at:
https://www.uniroma1.it/it/pagina/team-qualita
These webpages describe the ten-year development of Sapienza’s QA framework, the organisational model adopted, the QA actors (Quality Team, Monitoring Committees, Joint Teaching-Student Committees, Study Programme Quality Committees), the active working groups, the main activities carried out, and the documentation prepared for the management of QA processes and activities in Teaching, Research, and the Third Mission.
The webpages also serve as a platform for communication and for the dissemination of reference data used for Review activities, the drafting of reports by Joint Teaching-Student Committees and Faculty Monitoring Committees, and for compiling SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research forms.
Each Degree Programme and Department may adapt the Sapienza QA model, as defined on the Quality Team webpages, to their specific organisational needs, while respecting the models and procedures set by ANVUR and the Quality Team. The webpages of Degree Programmes/Departments, together with SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research forms, represent the communication tools through which QA implementation at Programme/Department level is described.
The Degree Programme relies on the Quality Assurance Management Committee (CGAQ), composed of members appointed for a three-year term, with strategic functions in ensuring the effectiveness of QA processes in education.
In particular, the CGAQ:

• verifies the proper delivery of teaching and training activities and the achievement of the objectives set by the Degree Programme;
• interacts with the Joint Teaching-Student Committee and the Faculty Monitoring Committee through its designated representative;
• collaborates with the Degree Programme Coordinator in identifying critical issues and defining improvement actions;
• analyses statistical data relating to enrolments, student careers, graduation rates, employment outcomes, and other indicators required by the AVA-MIUR system, comparing them with those of similar Degree Programmes;
• reviews feedback collected from students and graduates, identifying any critical issues related to teaching, services, and infrastructure;
• verifies the effectiveness of actions taken based on performance indicators;
• assesses the adequacy of infrastructures (classrooms, laboratories, study spaces) with respect to training needs;
• monitors the regular progress of teaching activities, promptly proposing corrective actions in the event of emerging problems;
• drafts annual monitoring and analysis reports, which serve as the documentary basis for planning improvement activities.

The CGAQ meets regularly, at least four times per year, to plan and coordinate monitoring and verification activities. On the basis of the CGAQ’s analyses and proposals, the Degree Programme Committee (CAD) defines and approves the operational plan for continuous improvement actions.
In support of QA, the Degree Programme also makes use of the Teaching Observatory, with a permanent monitoring function over the correct delivery of teaching activities and the services provided. The Observatory is tasked with proposing measures to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of education.
The CAD schedules, as a rule on an annual basis, the planned administrative, organisational, and teaching activities, and may integrate this schedule in response to new requirements arising from the Faculty, the University, or higher bodies (CUN, ANVUR, MIUR, etc.).
This planning follows a preparatory phase carried out by the CAD Evaluation and Quality Committee, which continuously performs tasks of organisation, verification, data collection and processing. At the end of this process, strategic actions for the Degree Programme are identified and proposed in order to fulfil its educational and organisational responsibilities.
This planning is approved by the CAD during one or more official meetings, and the minutes are made available on the Degree Programme website.
During the drafting of the Monitoring Report and the Cyclical Review Report, specific improvement actions are defined, including reference indicators for monitoring the effectiveness of corrective measures, the responsible persons, the resources required, and the expected timelines and deadlines. For further details on the available documentation, please refer to the “Quality” section of the Degree Programme website.

The Steering Committee ("Comitato d'Indirizzo"), according to art. 9 of the CAD Regulations, is a consultative body involved in both the planning and updating phases of B.Sc. and M.Sc. courses. It ensures a constant connection between the University, the school, and the job market, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of employment opportunities.
The Steering Committee, under current legislation and ANVUR guidelines, is composed of:
a) external subjects identified and designated by the CAD as representing the main stakeholders and according to the professional profiles set out in the SUA document;
b) a number of professors not exceeding one-third of the total number of members of the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee is convened by the President of the CAD at least once a year, before the annual update of the SUA-CdS form.

Composition of the Steering Committee (approved in the CAD of 22.07.2024):

1. ASSOAMBIENTE - dott.ssa Chiara Leboffe
2. Ordine degli Ingegneri della Provincia di Roma - ing. Massimo Cerri
3. Confindustria - ing. Elena Trapè
4. Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica - ing. Laura D'Aprile
5. Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti - ing. Tamara Bazzichelli
6. Regione Lazio - ing. Giorgio Pineschi
7. Arpa Lazio - ing. Maila Strappini
8. Autorità di Bacino Distrettuale dell'Appennino Centrale - prof. Marco Casini
9. ISPRA - Istituto superiore per la protezione e la ricerca ambientale - ing. Valeria Frittelloni
10. ENEA - Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile - ing. Laura Cutaia
11. ACEA - Infrastructure - ing. Giancarlo Cecchini
12. ACEA - ATO2 - ing. Massimo Spizzirri
13. WSP Italia - ing. Alessandro Ridola
14. CAD Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e il Territorio - prof. Michele Cercato
15. CAD Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e il Territorio - prof. Giovanni Attili
16. CAD Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e il Territorio - prof.ssa Alessandra Polettini
17. CAD Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e il Territorio - prof.ssa Raffaella Pomi
18. CAD Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e il Territorio (studente) - sig. Andrea Gargano
19. CAD Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e il Territorio (studentessa) - sig.ra Enat Lambert

The Teaching Observatory is established at the level of the Degree Programme Council, under the supervision of both affiliated programmes (Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees).

Coordinator: Prof. Maria Rosaria Lancia, SBAI (Reference Teacher for the 1st year)
Components:

• Prof. Giovanni Leuzzi, DICEA - Hydraulics (Reference Teacher for the 2nd year)
• Prof. Alessandra Polettini,  DICEA - Sanitary Engineering (Reference Teacher for the 3rd year)
• Lorenzo Castellani - Student
• Annarita Belcastro - Student
• Elisa Ajello - Student

The Joint Committee of the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering is composed of six faculty members and six students.
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The needs of stakeholders were identified both through the analysis of regulatory sources, studies and research carried out by AlmaLaurea, the Order of Engineers, and Confindustria, as well as through direct consultations.
Companies have been consulted at Faculty level since 2006 through the Memorandum of Understanding “Diamoci Credito”, signed with major national enterprises, with the aim of contributing to the evaluation, design, and development of a study programme aligned with labour market needs, integrating the educational process, guiding students, and facilitating their entry into the job market. Within this framework, meetings have been held at different levels (joint and technical committees), along with public events.
Further consultation opportunities were organised by the Academic Board for the development of internships and by Departments through research collaborations.
In the final consultation meeting of 24 January 2008, “on the basis of the reasons presented, taking into account the consultation process and the evaluations previously carried out by the proposing Faculties, considering favourably the rationalisation of the overall offer with a reduction in the number of programmes, particularly Bachelor’s Degrees, acknowledging that no comments were received during the online consultation preceding the meeting and that no objections were raised during the meeting itself, a favourable opinion was expressed on the establishment of the individual programmes, in application of DM 270 and subsequent decrees.”

For the purposes of identifying and defining training needs, a series of programmatic initiatives are periodically implemented both at the level of the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering and at the level of the Degree Programme Committee (CAD) in Environmental Engineering. These initiatives include consultations with public and private bodies, institutions, companies, and other stakeholders.
At Faculty level, the initiatives are transversal and involve stakeholders from several Degree Programmes jointly. At CAD level, the initiatives focus instead on the involvement of stakeholders more specifically interested in the environmental sector, as well as graduates and graduating students.
Faculty-level initiatives
At the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering, the Memorandum of Understanding FIGI (Faculty of Engineering – Large Companies) is in place. Its objectives are:

1. To propose a study offer consistent with labour market needs;
2. To promote and organise meetings with companies;
3. To support the employment of new graduates.

Annual meetings are organised with companies, local authorities, and other interested parties, with the participation of representatives (CAD Presidents and/or their delegates) from each Degree Programme of the Faculty. The contents and outcomes of these meetings are documented and made available on the FIGI project webpages and on the CAD in Environmental Engineering website.
Before consultations related to the approval of the annual study offer, a draft of the SUA form (including the list of courses and professional opportunities) is sent to the FIGI stakeholders. During the meetings, companies can discuss with Degree Programme representatives and submit proposals or observations on the study programme.
During the annual meeting, company representatives review the study offer, the objectives, and the curricula, analysing strengths and weaknesses. The minutes of the consultations conducted by the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering with companies and organisations are available on the Faculty’s official website.
The focus of the consultations is on assessing the preparation level of graduates (Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Single-cycle) with particular attention to:

• technical competences that should be further integrated into study programmes;
• transversal skills that should be strengthened and integrated;
• interest in graduates who have attended excellence programmes and their employability;
• professional qualifications typically required (Bachelor’s or Master’s);
• interest in graduates, both Italian and international, from programmes taught in English;
• selection criteria factors (age of the candidate, years taken to complete the degree, Bachelor’s degree final mark, internship experiences, participation in international mobility programmes, etc.).

CAD-level initiatives (Environmental Engineering)
Stakeholders relevant to Environmental Engineering include public institutions and private companies involved in environmental protection and management, as well as professional associations, among which the Associazione Ingegneri per l’Ambiente e il Territorio (AIAT) plays a major role at national level. Doctoral students (particularly from Environmental and Hydraulic Engineering), graduates, and graduating students must also be considered as stakeholders.
Consultations are carried out to verify the adequacy of the educational objectives both in relation to the employability of graduates and to the continuation of studies at PhD level.
For more than a decade, the CAD has established a Committee for External Relations, whose objectives are to:

1. Promote contacts with the professional world potentially interested in the programme;
2. Increase the visibility of the study offer towards companies;
3. Disseminate information on the training pathways offered to prospective students;
4. Examine the occupational prospects of graduates;
5. Identify the skills and professional profiles of graduates in relation to labour market needs and expectations;
6. Gather professional opinions on graduates’ competences.

Within these activities, consultation initiatives with professional representatives are held at least every two years. Outcomes are documented on the CAD website in the section dedicated to stakeholder consultations.
To this end, annually the CAD analyses the results of questionnaires specifically designed for professional stakeholders. Statistical results are published on the CAD website and are also presented and, if necessary, discussed in CAD meetings.
The CAD also makes use of AlmaLaurea surveys regarding the programme, and, where available, AIAT surveys on the employment status of Environmental Engineering graduates, to analyse their employment opportunities and professional profiles.
The CAD further promotes consultations with graduates, graduating students, and PhD students regarding teaching, study programmes, and other issues not covered by OPIS surveys. These consultations are held at least every two years.
For details on consultations and results, please refer to the dedicated page on the CAD website.
Advisory Board
In order to involve stakeholders more actively and systematically not only in evaluating the Degree Programme but also in formulating targeted proposals considering professional requirements, the CAD has established an Advisory Board. This body plays a key role both in the design phase and in the updating of the programme, ensuring a constant connection between the University, schools, and the labour market, and supporting the assessment of graduate employability.
In line with current legislation and ANVUR guidelines, the Advisory Board is composed of:
a) external members identified by the Degree Programme as representatives of the main stakeholders, consistent with the professional profiles defined in the SUA form;
b) tenured faculty members, in a number not exceeding one-third of the total members of the Board.
The Advisory Board is convened by the President of the Degree Programme at least once a year, in preparation for the annual update of the SUA-CdS. The composition of the Advisory Board and the minutes of its meetings are available on the CAD/Programme website.
For the academic year 2024/2025, the Advisory Board met on 13 May 2024 and 10 October 2024 to examine proposals for amendments to the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programmes, particularly in relation to the new Ministerial Decrees 1648/23 and 1649/23 on Degree Classes.

• Annual Monitoring Form (AMF) (PDF)
• Cyclic Review Report (CPR) (PDF)
• Opis Results Analysis Document (Opis-RAD) (PDF)