On October 9-11, 2023 Tbilisi State Medical University hosted an international conference within the framework of the institutional development project financed by ERASMUS+ “Strengthening the Quality and Relevance of the Third Mission in Georgian Universities” (SQUARE). The conference was chaired by Professor Khatuna Todadze, Vice Rector of TSMU. 

Professor Khatuna Todadze opened the conference and spoke about implementation and development of the third mission in the management of higher education institutions. Lasha Margishvili, Deputy Director of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement talked about the evaluation process of the third mission at universities during the authorization.

European colleagues from Belgium, France, Portugal and Finland shared their experience in strengthening the third mission at universities. On the other hand, the Georgian universities shared the strategic development vision and plans of incorporating the third mission in cooperation with the European partners. 

Nino Kandelaki ERASMUS+ Institutional Coordinator of TSMU presented a report on the pilot project the Tbilisi State Medical University "Museum of Life Sciences". 

Eight Georgian and three European universities, EFMD accreditation agency, Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement have been involved in the project implementation since 2020. 

The next meeting is scheduled on November 20-23, Lisbon (Portugal). The goal of the meeting is to discuss the outcomes of pilot projects at universities.