Secretary-General Janko Balšić, LL.M. represented NEAQA at the annual General Assembly and Workshop of CEENQA (Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education) on June 2-3, 2023, in Astana, Kazakhstan. The event’s host was IAAR (Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating).
The event was attended by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek, who, in his speech, noted that the development of the education system is aimed at ensuring the quality of educational services based on the widespread use of international experience and world standards, emphasising the internationalisation of higher education.
The People and Culture in QA Agencies Workshopdealt with various topics related to HR management and staff development, ranging from general questions on the strategic level to specific good practices for supporting staff and creating a productive and welcoming working environment in QA agencies. During the Workshop, the former president of INQAAHE, the deputy director of EQAR and two members of the CEENQA community reflected on the core values of higher education in connection with ESG perspectives, HR and processes for internal QA. A fruitful discussion followed, during which the consequences of digitisation on HR and the possibilities of approaching the QA agency in this sense were discussed.
At the General Assembly, CEENQA members decided on the election of Board members, as well as on the membership of several agencies: STAR, Turkey (full member), IKCA, Kazakhstan (full member) and HEC, Syria (observer). As a full member of CEENQA, NEAQA has voting rights, so our Secretary-General actively participated in the work of the General Assembly, voting on agenda items on behalf of the Director of NEAQA.
While in Astana, the NEAQA representative met with delegates from various European agencies, including Germany, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine, as well as from international associations such as ENQA, EQAR, INQAAHE, and APQN, sharing valuable experiences related to accreditation and higher education.
