Environmental Sciences

Sapienza's Quality Assurance (QA) System is described in detail on the Quality Team's web pages, available at https://www.uniroma1.it/it/pagina/team-qualita.

The web pages describe the ten-year process developed by the University to build Sapienza's Quality Assurance, the organizational model adopted, the QA stakeholders (Quality Team, Monitoring Committees, Joint Faculty-Student Committees, Degree Program Quality Committees), the active Working Groups, the main activities developed, and the documentation prepared for managing Quality Assurance processes and activities in Teaching, Research, and the Third Mission.

The Web Pages also serve as a communication platform and a platform for providing reference data for Review activities, drafting reports by the Joint Teacher-Student Commissions and Monitoring Committees, and compiling the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research Reports.
Each Degree Program and each Department is also entitled to apply the Sapienza Quality Assurance Model defined on the Quality Team Web Pages to the Degree Course/Department Quality Assurance, adapting it to its own organizational needs while respecting the models and procedures defined by ANVUR and the Quality Team.
The Degree Course/Department Web Pages, together with the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research Reports, represent the communication tools for implementing the Quality Assurance System at the Degree Course/Department level.
The Committee is composed of Professor Falasca (Chair of the CAD/Course), Professor Pacella, Professor Parducci, Professor Massimi, Dr. Congiu (Academic Coordinator), and, for the students, Mr. Lucian Nicolae Calina.

The activities of the Degree Course Quality Assessment (DQA) are aimed at analyzing the results of previously adopted corrective actions, analyzing the situation for the current academic year, and periodically monitoring the implementation of the corrective actions for immediate implementation, as proposed in the Review Report. These actions aim to improve the quality of education and the data on student perception of the Degree Course.
The responsibility of the DQA coordinator is shared with the members of the review group, which will assess the degree to which the established learning objectives have been achieved, according to criteria defined by the Degree Course Faculty Board.
The degree course, through the DQA management group, will monitor the corrective actions indicated in the previous Review Report through periodic meetings. It will evaluate the results of their adoption, highlighting the strengths identified, any critical issues, and any changes deemed necessary. It will verify the adequacy and effectiveness of the program management process. It will propose, where necessary, corrective actions to be introduced in the subsequent Review Report. The meeting schedule will be established following completion of the University's obligations.

The course design took into account the findings of three-year ISTAT surveys on employed persons, the suggestions of the Italian Association of Naturalists, the findings of coordination meetings between the CAD Presidents at the national level, and the round tables on training and employment held in 2006 and 2007 at the National Congresses of the Italian Botanical Society, the Italian Zoological Union, the Italian Society of Plant Sciences, and the Italian Society of Ecology. A Commission for contacts with the world of work has been established within the CAD in Natural and Environmental Sciences. In particular, last December, it was decided to hold regular meetings with the AIN, the National Coordination of Protected Areas, and the Association of Protected Area Directors. At the final consultation meeting on January 24, 2008, "based on the reasons presented and taking into account the consultation and the assessments previously carried out by the proposing faculties, favorably considering the rationalization of the overall offering by reducing the number of courses, particularly degree courses, and noting that no comments were received in the online consultation that preceded the meeting, and likewise no comments were raised during the meeting, a favorable opinion was expressed for the establishment of individual courses, pursuant to Ministerial Decree 270/2004 and subsequent decrees."

The course design took into account the findings of three-year ISTAT employment surveys, the input of the Italian Association of Naturalists, the findings of coordination meetings between the CAD Presidents at the national level, and the roundtable discussions on training and employment held in 2006 and 2007 at the National Congresses of the Italian Botanical Society, the Italian Zoological Union, the Italian Society of Plant Sciences, and the Italian Society of Ecology.

Since 2016, the Environmental Sciences (L-32) and Environmental Monitoring and Redevelopment (LM-75) degree programs have met periodically with stakeholders to ensure their curriculum is aligned with the needs and demands of the workforce. Specifically, since 2018, the year the Environmental Sciences and Technologies Teaching Area Council, which oversees the Environmental Sciences and Environmental Monitoring and Redevelopment degree programs, was established, these meetings have been held regularly. To facilitate and consolidate direct dialogue between the parties, the Teaching Area Council has established contact with the relevant bodies (e.g., the National Association of Biologists, the National Association of Agronomists and Forestry Doctors – CONAF, CONAMBI, AISA, ARPA Lazio, ISPRA, the Municipality of Rome, TERNA Rete Italia Spa). Information and updates regarding these bodies/orders are also obtained through periodic meetings and continuous consultation of their websites. In December 2016, the first meeting aimed at re-establishing a national coordination body for degrees in NATURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Classes L-32, LM-60, and LM-75) was held in Rome (Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University). The meeting was attended by the heads of these degree programs. One of the objectives of the coordination body is to contribute to the employment of graduates from these degree programs.
Indeed, the first meeting addressed several issues related to the relationship with the world of work, and established working groups dedicated to secondary school teaching; the establishment of the professional association and its relationship with related professional associations; and the involvement and relationships with organizations and associations operating in the naturalistic/environmental world. In April 2018, a meeting with stakeholders was held to analyze and review the degree program curricula. The meeting was attended by the Director of "Villas, Historic Parks, and Scientific Museums" of the Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Rome, the Director of the Sapienza Museum Center, the Head of the Integrated Environmental Assessment Service (ISPRA), the Heads of the Environmental Engineering Unit of TERNA Spa, journalists, and science communicators. The meeting highlighted the opportunity to increase curricular experience in the fields in which the program will be offering employment. All participants agree on the opportunity to strengthen (or activate where they do not already exist) collaboration initiatives through agreements with the University, in order to offer a greater number of opportunities for internships at public and private institutions such as CNR, ISPRA, TERNA, and organizations responsible for biodiversity conservation, the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services, natural environment management, and scientific dissemination.
The CAD established the Interested Parties Commission in 2018.
In September 2021, the CAD organized a meeting with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The meeting was attended by the Director of the Department for Environmental Assessment, Control, and Sustainability at ISPRA, the Head of the Environment Area of ​​Confindustria, the Head of the Environment Area of ​​ENI, the Head of the Environmental Analysis and Studies Organizational Unit of Terna SpA; the Head of the Environmental Protection Department of the Municipality of Rome; the General Director of Legambiente; the Manager of the WWF oases of the Roman Coast; the President of TecnostudiAmbiente SRL, representatives of Arpa Lazio - Ambiente, and a member of the board of the Order of Biologists. All participants agreed that the interdisciplinary nature of this degree program's graduate training is a strong point; however, they recommended intensifying interactions with the professional world (minutes at the link MINUTES of the September 2021 CAD Ambiente Meeting: https://smfn.web.uniroma1.it/it/consultazioni-parti-interessate)
On January 19, 2023, the CAD established the Steering Committee, composed of: Professor Giuseppina Falasca – President of the CAD, Professor Anna Maria Persiani – Lecturer, Professor Maurizio Del Monte – Lecturer, Professor Daniele Porretta – Lecturer, Professor Lorenzo Massimi – Lecturer, and the following representatives from the professional world: Professor Michele Munafò (ISPRA), Dr. Andrea Fantini (Tecnostudi Ambiente srl), Dr. Marta Geranzani (Waste Management Department of Rome Capital), and Engineer Alessandro Di Giosa (ARPA Lazio). The Steering Committee meets periodically and is responsible for monitoring the progress of degree programs, organizing meetings with stakeholders, and suggesting any changes to the course offerings.
To adapt the degree programs to the decree defining degree classes (Ministerial Decrees Nos. 1648 and 1649 of December 19, 2023) and to keep graduate education in line with the expectations of the workforce, the proposed changes to the curriculum for the two degree programs were analyzed and discussed with the members of the Steering Committee and other stakeholders on November 28, 2024. The meeting was attended by the President of the CAD and numerous faculty members from the two degree programs. The Steering Committee was represented by Eng. Di Giosa (ARPA Lazio), Prof. Munafò (ISPRA), Dr. Geranzani (Municipality of Rome), and representing other professional organizations, Dr. Sarandrea (TecnostudiAmbiente S.R.l.), Dr. Luzzi (TERNA spa), Prof. Vitale (Coordinator of the Ecology Curriculum for the PhD Program in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology), and Dr. Giovannini (middle school teacher).
All participants consider the new curriculum of the two degree programs to be appropriate for current environmental scenarios and the expectations of the workforce and agree to preserve and consolidate the cultural interdisciplinarity that has always characterized the education of graduates of these two programs. Furthermore, they reiterated the importance of experimental, laboratory, and field work, as well as internships at organizations and companies involved in environmental monitoring, analysis, and conservation, and called for greater student participation in these organizations and companies for internships and for the final exam. The meeting also highlighted the need to enhance, through seminars, knowledge of emerging topics applicable to environmental studies (minutes at https://smfn.web.uniroma1.it/it/consultazioni-parti-interessate).