Environmental Monitoring and Recovery

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 Faculty-Student Commissions and Monitoring Committees, and compiling the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research Reports.
Each Degree Program and each Department may apply the Sapienza Quality Assurance Model defined on the Quality Team Web Pages to its own Degree Program/Department Quality Assurance, adapting it to its own organizational needs while still complying with the models and procedures defined by ANVUR and the Quality Team.
The Degree Program/Department Web Pages, together with the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research Reports, serve as communication tools for implementing the Quality Assurance System at the Degree Program/Department level.

The members of the Degree Programme Quality Management and Assurance Committee are:
- Professor Giuseppina Falasca (Chair of the CAD),
- Professor Giulia Capotorti,
- Professor Francesca Vergari,
- Professor Giancarlo Josè Morgana
- Dr. Francesca Congiu (Teaching Coordinator)
- Tiziano Napoleoni (student)

The Degree Programme Quality Assurance Committee's activities 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 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 Programme.
The responsibility of the Degree Programme Quality Assurance Coordinator is shared with the members of the Review Committee, which will assess the degree to which the established learning objectives have been achieved, according to criteria defined by the Degree Programme Teaching Board.
The program, through its Quality Assurance Management Group, will hold periodic meetings to monitor the corrective actions outlined in the previous Review Report. It will evaluate the results of their implementation, highlighting the strengths identified, any critical issues, and any changes deemed necessary. It will verify the adequacy and effectiveness of the program's management. It will propose, where necessary, corrective actions to be introduced in the next Review Report. The meeting schedule will be established following completion of the University's requirements.
The Committee will monitor and evaluate activities related to the new program structure.

The course design also took into account the findings of ISTAT employment surveys, the suggestions of the Italian Association of Naturalists, and the findings of meetings between CAD Presidents at the national level, as well as the findings of 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.
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 periodic meetings with both the AIN and the National Coordination of Protected Areas and the Association of Protected Area Directors. In the final consultation meeting of January 24, 2008, 'based on the reasons presented and taking into account the consultation and the evaluations carried out previously by the proposing faculties, considering favorably 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 formulated during the meeting, a favorable opinion was expressed for the establishment of individual courses, in application of Ministerial Decree 270/2004 and subsequent decrees.

Since 2016, the Environmental Sciences (L-32) and Environmental Monitoring and Redevelopment (LM-75) degree programs have met regularly with stakeholders to ensure their curriculum meets the needs and demands of the workforce. Specifically, since 2018, the year the Environmental Sciences and Technologies Teaching Council, which oversees the Environmental Sciences and Environmental Monitoring and Redevelopment degree programs, was established, meetings have been held regularly. To foster and consolidate direct dialogue between the parties, the Teaching Council has established contacts with several 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 provided not only through periodic meetings but also through ongoing 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. The first meeting addressed several issues related to the relationship with the world of work, and working groups were established dedicated to secondary school teaching; the establishment of an association and its relationship with related professional associations; and the involvement and relationships with organizations and associations operating in the naturalistic/environmental field.
In April 2018, a meeting with interested parties was held to analyze and review the educational curricula of the two degree programs. The meeting was attended by the Director of the "Villas, Historic Parks, and Scientific Museums of the Capitoline Superintendency of Cultural Heritage," Rome Capitale, 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 enhance curricular experience in the fields in which job placement will be offered. All participants agreed on the opportunity to strengthen collaboration through agreements with the University, in order to offer a greater number of internship opportunities at public and private institutions such as the CNR, ISPRA, TERNA, and organizations responsible for biodiversity conservation, the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services, the management of the natural environment, and scientific dissemination.
In 2018, the CAD established the Stakeholders' Committee, consisting of Professors Anna Maria Persiani, Maurizio Del Monte, Fausto Manes, and Michele Munafò, Head of the National Environmental Information System Service – ISPRA.

In 2021, to meet the demands of the professional world, student needs, and to provide additional knowledge to complement students' preparation, the curriculum for this Master's degree was revised and integrated with new courses in the GEO, AGR, and SECs-P areas. The proposal for the new curriculum arose following a meeting with the PIs held in September 2021 and following discussions with several Master's degree students.
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 training is a strong point; however, they recommended intensifying interactions with the professional world (minutes available at: https://smfn.web.uniroma1.it/it/consultazioni-parti-interessate). These observations have been incorporated into the new training program, which has given greater emphasis to practical activities and included university credits dedicated to activities useful for entering the world of work.
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.
In order to adapt the degree programs to the decree defining the degree classes (Ministerial Decree no. 1648 and 1649 of 19-12-2023) and to keep graduate training in line with the expectations of the world of work, the proposed changes to the program structure for the two degree programs were discussed with members of the Steering Committee and other stakeholders on November 28, 2024. The meeting was attended by the President of the CAD and numerous professors 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, the importance of laboratory and field experiments and internships at organizations and companies involved in environmental monitoring, analysis, and conservation was reiterated, with the hope of increased 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.