IQAA organized the 17th INQAAHE 2023 Biennial Conference "Roadmap to Enabling Quality in Tertiary Education 2030"

In Astana from May 29 to June 1, 2023, Independent Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (IQAA) hosted the 17th International Conference of the International Network of Agencies for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (INQAAHE) on the topic “Roadmap to Enabling Quality in Tertiary Education 2030”. The conference was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Akimat of the city represented by LLP “Astana Development Group”, the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan represented by JSC “NC “Kazakh Tourism”, JSC “NC “KazMunayGas” and the Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC, Saudi Arabia)”. In 2021 IQAA on a competitive basis among all members of INQAAHE, was elected as the organizer of this conference. INQAAHE is a worldwide association of over 300 organizations dedicated to the theory and practice of quality assurance in higher education. The Association was established over 30 years ago and is a partner of UNESCO, and its members are accreditation agencies in the field of higher education and higher education institutions from 97 countries, including IQAA.

Education is one of the fundamental human rights, the foundation for strengthening peace and a factor in the sustainable development of mankind and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations until 2030, UNESCO considers this area of activity as its primary task. Therefore, the theme of the Conference is dedicated to the role of quality assessment in supporting the implementation of the UNESCO Roadmap “2030 Beyond Borders: New Ways to Rethink Higher Education”. The conference was an important international event that unites all five continents of the Earth, from 60 countries of the world. International experts in the field of higher education, leading UNESCO experts, representatives of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, representatives of foreign and local accreditation agencies and universities took part in the conference.

During the conference, about 40 speakers, who are authoritative experts in the field of education, presented their works and findings. About 250 participants of the conference in offline and online mode discussed the role of quality assessment to support progress on the UNESCO roadmap towards innovative, flexible and inclusive solutions to support the global agenda to expand access to higher education, improve management in the education system. The conference addressed 4 key sub-themes reflecting the main existing challenges in higher education: flexible learning paths, digitalization of teaching and learning without loss of quality, quality assurance of cross-border education, core values of higher education.

Under the sub-theme "Fostering quality of flexible learning pathways", aspects related to micro-degrees, the role of national and regional qualifications frameworks, mobility programs, short-term study programs and other non-traditional qualification paths were discussed.

Under the sub-theme “Digitalization of teaching and learning without compromising quality”, the issues of recognition of online and blended learning, lessons learned during the global pandemic, an innovative approach to quality assurance of online learning, as well as approaches and opportunities for quality assurance in the age of artificial intelligence were discussed.

Within the framework of the sub-theme "Quality assurance of cross-border education", the problems and opportunities of international academic partnerships for expanding global access to quality education were discussed.

Under the sub-theme “Core values and quality of higher education”, concrete ways were discussed that can help protect and strengthen the values of inclusiveness, integrity, independence, academic freedom, cooperation and internationalization in higher education, given the rapid changes and upheavals of the modern world. Approaches to strengthen and adhere to these values were discussed. These approaches will help shape a sustainable higher education system, as well as an enabling environment for expanding access to higher education.

IQAA, within the framework of the social and cultural program, organized a visit to the Astana Opera theater for the participants of the conference, where the premiere of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" took place. As part of a city tour, the conference participants visited the leading universities of Astana, Nazarbayev University and the University of KAZGUU named after M.S. Narikbaev. A visit to Baiterek, Independence Square and Grand Mosque was organized with the support of the city Akimat represented by LLP “Astana Development Group”. The full photo report is available on the official Facebook page of the Agency at the link