Third Mission
What is the Third Mission?
By Third Mission we mean the set of activities through which universities interact directly with civil society and the business world with the aim of promoting the economic, social and cultural growth of the territory.
These are activities for the valorization of research and the production of social, educational and cultural public goods, through which knowledge -transmitted to students with teaching activities (First Mission) and generated by scientific research (Second Mission) - is transferred outside the academic context and becomes a tool for generating an impact on society, which takes the form of both material and intangible benefits.
The Third Mission at Luiss
The Third Mission has been deeply rooted in Luiss since its founding, as it is inherent to the university's enduring mission. This is why Luiss ranks among the top universities in Italy for the quality of its Third Mission.
With its 2021–2024 Strategic Plan, Luiss has also set the following among its objectives:
- excellence in research with a strong societal impact, focusing on innovation and sustainable development
- international visibility, recognition, and relevance as a means to amplify impact
- the widespread integration of sustainability into the fabric of Luiss, in line with the 2030 Agenda
- the involvement of alumni and stakeholders in implementing the new “inquiry-based” educational model
Finally, the 2022–2024 Sustainability Plan explicitly includes among its actions the launch of Third Mission projects, with a particular focus on diversity and inclusion.
Third Mission in numbers
Luiss supports the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and undertakes to ensure that each of its initiatives fully respects the principles of Sustainable Development.
Luiss classified 2nd among all Italian private Universities for the quality of the Third Mission in the last national Research Quality Assessment (VQR). Furthermore, the overall mark attributed to the effectiveness of the research and Third Mission QA system during the Periodic Accreditation visit - an audit procedure carried out nationally by ANVUR - was “Very positive”, the highest attributable grade: this evaluation contributed to the accreditation of Luiss as “Class A”, the best possible outcome, assigned only to 6 other Italian universities out of the 90 evaluated in AVA2.
Internally, the Third Mission self-assessment and monitoring activities are carried out through the Annual form for Research and Third Mission (SUA-R/TM), compiled annually on the basis of a template prepared by the Luiss Quality and Innovation Board which implements the ANVUR guidelines. With a view to transparency, Luiss makes the Reports available online to inform students, families and stakeholders about the skills existing in the Departments and the research and Third Mission activities carried out during each year, thus helping to strengthen, facilitate and target the collaboration between the University, research and civil society.
Sustainability at Luiss
Luiss is committed to building and nurturing a culture of sustainability and to being a driving force for change toward sustainable and inclusive development.
Library
The Library engages in concrete actions aimed at achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, providing open access sources and bibliographical reasearch paths for each of them.
Engagement
The University's objective is to promote sustainability by involving its network in initiatives open to the community and with a tangible impact.
Research
Luiss research aims to focus on relevant and interdisciplinary topics, with particular attention to those related to the Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Open Science
Based on the principles of transparency, reproducibility and sharing, Open Science brings science closer to the needs of society and provides equal access opportunities to citizens, researchers and policy maker.
Third Mission Office
Viale Romania, 32
00197 Roma
terzamissione@luiss.it