ISLA Gaia is an institution dedicated to the creation, transmission, criticism and dissemination of culture, art, science and technology, which aims to teach, research and provide services in these various fields, in an interdisciplinary perspective, in order to the development of Portuguese-speaking countries and peoples.
The specific purposes of ISLA Gaia are:
a) Polytechnic higher education, in all legally admissible degrees;
b) Human, cultural, artistic, scientific, technical and technological training
c) To carry out fundamental and applied research;
d) Active participation in the national education system;
e) The provision of services to the community, in a perspective of mutual enhancement, rationalization and maximum use of all resources contributing, within its scope of activity, to the development of the country, international cooperation and rapprochement between peoples, with special emphasis on Portuguese-speaking peoples and European peoples.
The ISLA Gaia assumed an institutional commitment to quality and quality assurance as key vectors of its development.
The commitment is enshrined in the statutes of the institution, which state, in its Article 16(f), that the Administrator "Establish, in collaboration with the other bodies, the mechanisms for regular self-assessment of the performance of ISLA Gaia, with a view to the national system of accreditation and evaluation."
ISLA Gaia establishes as basic principles the international guidelines in matters of Quality Assurance of Institutions, namely:
Focus on Stakeholders
ISLA Gaia, as an institution of higher education with a mission of special relevance in society, depends on its students, teachers, employees, businesses, surrounding community among others and, consequently, should develop efforts to understand their needs, current and future, seeking to meet their requirements and exceed their expectations.
Leadership
The leaders establish the purpose and the orientation of the Institution. In this sense, it is important that they create and maintain the internal environment that allows the full involvement of people in order to enable the achievement of the organisation's objectives.
Involvement of people
People, at all levels, are the essence of the institution and their full involvement allows their skills to be used for the benefit of the institution.
Process Approach
A desired outcome is achieved more efficiently when activities and associated resources are managed as a process.
Management as a system approach
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system helps ISLA Gaia to achieve its objectives effectively and efficiently.
Continuous improvement
ISLA Gaia assumes as a permanent objective the continuous improvement of the overall performance of the institution's activities.
Fact-based approach to decision making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and concrete and objective information, which allow a substantiation of the decisions taken by the Institution, in the context of a culture of analytical decision-making.
Mutually beneficial relationship with internal and external community
ISLA Gaia recognizes that the Institution and the community should be interdependent, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that enhances the ability of both parties to create value in society.
