Introduction
You heard the word CIMEA being thrown around by everyone and would like to know more about it. This article has got you covered. More likely, you are here because you are either currently studying or about to start your studies in Italy and are sorting out your documents at the moment. But there are several unanswered questions about CIMEA. Then this article has certainly got you covered.
What is CIMEA?
CIMEA stands for Centro di Informazione sulla Mobilita e le Equivalenze Accademiche. The English equivalent expansion is Information Centre on Academic Mobility and Equivalence. They are an organization that mainly evaluates the academic credentials of individuals across the globe. This process is enabled by their international document center and specialized databases on foreign higher education systems and the types of qualifications of every country. The Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research (MIUR) has entrusted CIMEA with the task of conducting the activities concerning the procedures of qualification recognition currently in force in Italy, the Italian higher education system, and the qualifications awarded at a national level.
What is a Certificate of Comparability and Certificate of Verification?
As part of CIMEA’s Credential Information Service (CIS), these certificates are issued for Italian and foreign qualifications to make them understandable and recognizable in both national and international contexts. There are two types of recognition of qualifications, academic and non-academic recognition. Academic recognition pertains to accessing higher education and continuing university studies whereas non-academic recognition mainly relates to work reasons. If you are a student and the university requires these documents to confirm your enrollment, then you fall into the academic recognition category. If the certificates have been requested at your workplace for instance, then you need to choose non-academic recognition.
For the certificate of comparability, CIMEA evaluates the qualifications of your higher education system and the final qualifications of secondary school courses that allow access to higher education. In other words, they identify your higher education degree with reference to the Bologna process and the European qualifications framework.
For the certificate of verification, CIMEA certifies that your qualifications of higher education have been issued by an official body according to their system of reference. In summary, CIMEA validates that the higher education degree obtained is from an authentic source/institution of education. They do this through various means some of which are, directly requesting information from the institution that awarded the degree, receipt by mail of original qualification from the institution at CIMEA offices, and verification of the presence of legalization and stamps.
Who should do it? Is it relevant to me?
In the case of a student, firstly check with the university authorities if there are alternate options available to get your degree recognized. Instead of a statement of comparability, a Declaration of Value (DoV) is usually accepted, and similarly, instead of a statement of verification, apostilled certificates are accepted. But to reiterate, check with the relevant university personnel if there are alternate provisions.
In some cases, legalization documents like the CIMEA certificates are not mandatory if the higher education documents have been issued by a European country.
CIMEA vs DoV
Declaration of Value (DoV) is a document issued by an Italian Diplomatic Representative (Embassies, Consulates) that confirms the validity and eligibility of your higher education qualification. These are obtained through Italian diplomatic authorities closest to the city where the institution that awarded the qualification is located. DoV is usually considered as an alternative.
Since we already know the services offered by CIMEA, the cost for these services is between 150 to 250 Euros. These prices vary depending on the urgency and if the request is being made as part of enrollment to a partner university. Standard charges for the statement of comparability are 150 Euros (statement available in 30 working days) or 250 Euros (statement available in 15 days). When requesting as part of a partner university enrollment, a statement of comparability is issued for a fee of 150 Euros and a statement of verification for a fee of 65 Euros, both in 15 days. In comparison, DoV certainly does not put a big hole in the pocket as CIMEA but the duration it takes to receive the DoV is ambiguous. It might take weeks to months even, depending on the authorities. CIMEA can also be used instead of DoV to apply for a visa. Although services offered by CIMEA do not come cheap, they are timely.
How can I get my CIMEA certificate?
To request a CIMEA certificate, the first step is to create an account on CIMEA by registering on their MyDiplome portal
. If you are preparing enrollment documents for your university, check to see if your university has ties with CIMEA. If yes, then use the link provided by your university to create an account on MyDiplome, as this would enable you to access services at a reduced rate in a shorter duration.
Prepare and upload the necessary documents on the portal. These documents vary depending on the country, so make sure to check the specific documents for your country. Also, the documents will mostly have to be in English or Italian, if not, their translation will have to be uploaded to the portal.
In addition to the educational documents, CIMEA requires a consent form to be signed and uploaded. This form can be found under the Info section of the MyDiplome portal. The consent form allows CIMEA to process personal data.
After all the documents are uploaded, pay the fee for the interested service.
In a few days, they request sealed copies of the documents either in physical form or an electronic copy sent directly from your education institution. This might vary depending on your university and its procedures so verify the same. If the documents are sent physically, they have to be mailed to the address CIMEA – Viale XXI Aprile 36 – 00162 Roma (RM) – Italia (Italy)
Once the documents are received at CIMEA offices, they get processed and the certificates are made available in the MyDiplome wallet. (The Diplome service of CIMEA is based on blockchain technology and is used for credential evaluation.)
For any clarifications, CIMEA can be contacted through the information request option under Services on the MyDiplome portal and are helpful and responsive.
Conclusion
With CIMEA officially recognized by the Italian authorities to perform evaluation and recognition of qualifications, it makes our life easier by not having to pick and choose between various options. Although it seems daunting to begin with, their services are easy to navigate through and increasingly sought after.
comments powered by Disqus