Quality Policy and Management
Quality Policy and Management ISLA Gaia is an institution dedicated to the creation, transmission, criticism and dissemination of culture, art, science and technology, whose objectives are teaching, research and the provision of services in these various fields, from an interdisciplinary perspective, with a view to the development of Portuguese-speaking countries and peoples.
ISLA Gaia's specific aims are:
a) Polytechnic higher education, in all legally admissible degrees;
b) Human, cultural, artistic, scientific, technical and technological training;
c) Carrying out fundamental and applied research;
d) Active participation in the national education system;
e) Providing services to the community, with a view to reciprocal appreciation, rationalisation and maximum use of all the resources it contributes, 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.
ISLA Gaia has made an institutional commitment to quality and quality assurance as fundamental vectors of its development.
This commitment is enshrined in the institution's own statutes, which state, in article 16 f), that the Administrator is responsible for ‘Establishing, in collaboration with the other bodies, the mechanisms for regular self-evaluation of ISLA Gaia's performance, with a view to the national accreditation and evaluation system’.
ISLA Gaia establishes as its basic principles the international guidelines on Quality Assurance for Institutions, namely:
Focus on Stakeholders
ISLA Gaia, as a higher education institution with a mission of special relevance to society, depends on its students, teachers, staff, companies, the surrounding community and others and, consequently, should endeavour to understand their current and future needs, seeking to meet their requirements and exceed their expectations.
Leadership
Leaders set the institution's purpose and direction. In this sense, it is important that they create and maintain the internal environment that allows people to be fully involved in order to achieve the organisation's objectives.
Involving 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 result 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 achieve its objectives effectively and efficiently.
Continuous improvement
ISLA Gaia's permanent objective is to continuously improve the overall performance of the institution's activities.
Fact-based approach to decision-making
Effective decisions are based on analysing concrete and objective data and information, which allows the decisions made by the institution to be substantiated, in the context of a culture of analytical decision-making.
Mutually beneficial relationship with the internal and external community
ISLA Gaia recognises that the institution and the community must be interdependent, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that enhances the ability of both parties to create value for society."