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Quality Assurance (QA) and organisation at DiSTA

Quality Assurance (QA)
disat quality

The Department has established a Quality Assurance system consistent with the guidelines set by the PQA in the document Description of the QA System of the University, which is implemented across its different areas of responsibility.

  • Teaching
  • Research
  • Knowledge Valorisation
QA for Teaching

The Department coordinates all quality assurance processes related to the educational offer in close collaboration with the Degree Programme Councils (CCdS) and the Faculty Board of the PhD Programme in Computer Science and Computational Mathematics.

The systematic documentation of the main processes of design, management, review, and improvement of the Degree Programme Councils and the PhD programme is an integral part of the QA system.

The key documents for assessing the quality requirements of Degree Programmes are:

  1. Annual Single Programme Report (SUA-CdS);
  2. Annual Monitoring Report (SMA);
  3. Cyclical Review Report (RRC);
  4. Report of the Joint Teaching–Student Committee

The key documents for assessing the quality requirements of the PhD programme are:

  1. Design Document;
  2. Planning and Organisation Document;
  3. Annual Monitoring and Review Report of the PhD programme;
  4. Self-Assessment Report for Periodic Accreditation

The QA actors specific to the Teaching area are listed below.

This is a committee established at Department level, composed of an equal number of faculty members and students representing the degree programmes managed by the teaching structure. It serves as a permanent internal observatory within the Department on teaching activities, focusing mainly on monitoring the degree of achievement of teaching objectives, also based on constructive dialogue with students, both to collect their feedback and to promote a culture of quality. The Annual Report of the CPDS represents a synthesis of the analytical activities carried out during the year and includes improvement proposals addressed to the degree programmes.

The Joint Teaching–Student Committee (CPDS)

Students take part in the life and governance of the University and, in particular, of their own teaching structure, through their representatives in the Degree Programme Council, the Department Council, and the Department’s QA Committees.

The duties of student representatives are as follows:

  • listen to and engage with the relevant student community
  • bring collected issues to the appropriate collegial body
  • periodically report to the student community on decisions taken by the governing bodies
  • periodically convene the relevant student community
  • maintain contact with representatives both within Department bodies and committees and within the University governing bodies
  • propose improvement actions to the competent bodies

In particular, student representatives in the CPDS and AiQua Committees are responsible for reporting observations, critical issues, and improvement proposals regarding the educational pathway and teaching support services, and for verifying that transparency, accessibility, and sharing of information are ensured within the respective roles of the QA Committees.

Student representatives in the Department Council of Theoretical and Applied Sciences (DiSTA) are the following:

For representatives in the various Degree Programme Councils, please refer to the dedicated pages under “Programme organisation”:

For representatives in the DiSTA CPDS and in the AiQua Committees of the affiliated degree programmes, please refer to the dedicated sections.

For representatives in the General Student Council (CGS), please refer to the 

dedicated page

For each Degree Programme (CdS), responsibility for the educational offer (design, including consultations with the labour market, management, and continuous improvement of the programme) lies with the Programme Director, who also serves as Chair of the AiQua Committee. In the programme’s self-assessment and review activities, the Programme Director is supported by the other members of the AiQua Committee.

The Degree Programme Council—composed of faculty members holding teaching responsibilities as specified in the programme’s academic regulations, and an elected student representation equal to at least fifteen percent of the professors and researchers—is the collegial body responsible for ensuring the academic and organisational coordination of the programme’s activities. The Programme Director and the AiQua Committee both report to this Council.

For the names of the Degree Programme Directors at DiSTA, please refer to the section on AiQua Committees.

The AiQua Committee of the Degree Programme, referred to in the SUA-CdS as the “Quality Assurance Management Group”, is the main actor in the programme’s self-assessment and review process. It plays a key role in managing internal quality assurance processes for each Degree Programme (CdS) through activities of planning, implementation, monitoring, and control.

Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Computer Science
Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental and Nature Sciences
Bachelor’s Degree in Interlingual and Intercultural Mediation
Bachelor’s Degree in History and Histories of the Contemporary World
Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability of Work Environments

The Teaching Quality Manager (MDQ) is a professional figure identified at University level and present in each teaching structure. The MDQ supports activities related to teaching management and acts as a process facilitator within the Quality Assurance (QA) system. For this reason, each Degree Programme’s QA management group (AiQua Committee) also includes an MDQ.

For contact information, please refer to:

Listening Service for Teaching Quality Managers – DiSTA

Representatives from the labour market contribute to the design of the Degree Programmes (CdS) of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences (DiSTA), providing information useful for defining and updating professional profiles, acting in an advisory capacity for internship planning, and helping to assess the effectiveness of the educational pathway.

The main objective of this activity is to maintain continuous alignment between educational demand and supply, sharing the Degree Programme’s educational project and fostering effective collaboration with scientific and professional organisations, institutions, cultural and production stakeholders, including at international level, not only at the stage of programme establishment.

At DiSTA, consultations with the labour market for the Degree Programmes in Computer Science, History and Histories of the Contemporary World, and Environmental Engineering and Occupational Environment Sustainability are organised through the establishment of an Advisory Board.

This activity involves interaction with the AiQua Committees and the Degree Programme coordinators through both in-person and online meetings.

Responsibility for Quality Assurance (QA) of the PhD Programme in Computer Science and Computational Mathematics lies with the Coordinator of the Faculty Board, supported by the AiQUA-PHD Committee established within the same Board.

For more information on the PhD programme, please consult:

PhD Programme pages of the University
Student reports

Undergraduate students have a number of channels available to them for requesting information and submitting feedback and suggestions for improvement.

In addition to undergraduate students, PhD students, Master’s students and those enrolled in specialist schools may also contact the Head of Department, who is responsible for handling student feedback, regarding unresolved issues or complaints:

For a detailed description of the procedures available to DiSTA undergraduate students, please consult the relevant pages:

Contacts and student reports – Degree Programmes
Student reports – PhD Programmes, Master’s Programmes and Specialisation Schools
Research and Third Mission QA
Quality

The adopted Quality Assurance system is based on the definition of responsibilities and functions of the actors involved, the processes in which they interact, and the related information flows.

Quality in the areas of research and knowledge valorisation requires the Department to:

  • define meaningful objectives;
  • ensure their achievement within the established timeframe;
  • certify the results achieved;
  • maintain an adequate organisational structure.
Actors and tools of QA in Research and Knowledge Valorisation

At Department level, the main QA actor for Research and Knowledge Valorisation is the AiQuaR Committee, described below. The central role of the Department Council is outlined in the section “The organisation of the Department: Institutional bodies, committees, and individual roles”.

The systematic documentation of the main processes of planning, management, review, and improvement of the Department’s research and knowledge valorisation activities is an integral part of the QA system. The key documents for assessing the Quality Requirements of Research and Knowledge Valorisation at Department level are:

  • Department Strategic Plan
  • Departmental Single Report

The AiQuaR Committee plays a key role in managing quality processes for research and knowledge valorisation, as it is the main actor in the Department’s self-assessment and review activities. It reports to the Department Council, the collegial body responsible for the overall management of the Department and for adopting the necessary decisions.

Below is the composition of the DiSTA AiQuaR Committee.

DiSTA AiQuaR Committee
Department organisation: institutional bodies, committees, and individual roles

Alongside the institutional bodies provided for by the Statute at teaching and research structure level, the Department, in order to oversee areas of activity considered strategic, has established its own specific organisational structure, with a system of delegations and the creation of dedicated Department committees.

The Head of Department represents the Department as the person responsible for managing the structure, defining strategic guidelines, and evaluating results. The Head promotes and coordinates all Department activities. 
The Head of DiSTA is Prof. Alberto Coen Porisini.

The Department Council is the collegial body responsible for planning the Department’s activities and for the allocation of its resources. Within the Department’s Quality Assurance system, the Council adopts decisions related to QA activities, taking into account both internal and external analyses of the Department as well as proposals for corrective or improvement actions put forward by the QA Committees.

The Executive Committee performs preparatory functions and formulates proposals to be submitted for approval by the Department Council. The Committee may be assigned decision-making functions upon unanimous approval of the Department Council.

The Department Executive Committee is chaired by the Head of Department and is composed of: 
a. the Deputy Head of Department, where appointed 
b. the Section Coordinators 
c. the Chairs of the Degree Programme Councils for which the Department is the main reference body (or a representative of the Degree Programme Council affiliated with the Department, if the Chair belongs to another Department) 
d. two representatives elected from the technical-administrative staff—at least one of whom must have a technical-scientific profile.

Since the Committee must include at least two full professors, two associate professors, and two researchers, these members are elected as needed within their respective academic ranks. The Administrative Secretary (acting as minutes secretary) and the Head of the Teaching Administration Office are also members of the Committee, with advisory functions.

The members of the Executive Committee are as follows:

  • Prof. Alberto Coen Porisini – Full Professor (Head of Department)
  • Prof. Vincenzo Torretta – Full Professor (Deputy Head of Department)
  • Prof. Andrea Bellavita – Associate Professor (Chair, Degree Programme in History and Contemporary World Studies)
  • Prof.ssa Maria Paola Bissiri – Associate Professor (Chair, Degree Programme in Interlinguistic and Intercultural Mediation)
  • Prof. Bruno Dal Lago – Associate Professor (Chair, Degree Programme in Environmental Engineering and Workplace Sustainability)
  • Prof.ssa Brunella Gerla – Full Professor (Chair, Degree Programme in Computer Science)
  • Prof.ssa Ester Papa – Associate Professor (Chair, Degree Programme in Environmental Science and Nature)
  • Prof. Lorenzo Mastropierro – Associate Professor (Mediazione Section)
  • Prof. Sandro Morasca – Full Professor (Computer Science Section)
  • Prof. Damiano Preatoni – Full Professor (Environment Section)
  • Prof. Enzo Vaccari – Full Professor (Humanities Section)
  • Dr. Stefano Ponti – RTDb (Researcher representative)
  • Dr.ssa Silvia Quadroni – RTT (Researcher representative)
  • Ms. Cinzia Roganti (Technical-Administrative Staff representative – Technical-Scientific Area)

The Delegate is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the activities carried out by the various Degree Programme Councils aimed at the activation and delivery of the Department’s Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes.

The Delegate is Prof.

The Delegate is responsible for coordinating activities related to the strategic plan, including periodic requirements and the actions planned for its implementation. They oversee the monitoring process of the plan’s implementation. 
The Delegate is Prof.

The Delegate is responsible for coordinating the AiQUA-R Committee and overseeing periodic requirements related to research activities.

The Delegate is Prof.ssa