St. Mary’s University (SMU) held a strategic briefing session on September 18, 2025, to update its top and middle management on the progress of its ISO 21001:2018 certification project. Led by Ato Shimelis Tamiru, the University’s ISO Management Representative, the session underscored the global relevance of ISO standards in enhancing quality management, operational efficiency, stakeholder confidence, innovation, and consumer protection. Ato Shimelis emphasized that SMU’s pursuit of the ES ISO 21001:2018 certification marks a significant milestone .

The presentation detailed SMU’s journey thus far, including the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement, the formation and training of the ISO task force, the completion of a comprehensive gap assessment with IES, and the dissemination of its findings. A key achievement highlighted was the documentation phase, now halfway complete, with the task force having developed and controlled various ISO-aligned documents.