INQAAHE Forum 2024 – Bucharest (Romania)

Transforming Society: Social Responsibility through Quality Assurance of Tertiary Education

June 10-13, 2024, Bucharest (Romania)

Hosted by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS)

During the 2022 General Assembly Meeting in June, the INQAAHE members voted for Forum 2024 to take place in Bucharest (Romania), hosted by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS). From June 10-13, 2024, the 14th INQAAHE Biennial Forum 2024 entitled Transforming Society: Social Responsibility through Quality Assurance of Tertiary Education took place. The theme was explored through four sub-themes:

1. 1. 1. Fostering Civic Engagement
      2. Bridging the Gap to Quality Education for All
      3. Designing Curricula for Societal Impact
      4. Fostering Opportunities for All Ages

A Forum to discuss, collaborate, spark ideas, and reap value for participants through insightful discussions and shared experiences. The Forum aimed to equip participants with a holistic understanding of how tertiary education can shape a better future for individuals and society.

1. Global Perspectives: Connect with a diverse network of stakeholders from around the world. Discover innovative QA practices and strategies that transcend borders and contexts.

All Forum materials are available below.

Forum workshops

1. Skill up with the ISGs: a hands-on workshop to make innovation an everyday habit, facilitated by Dr. Susanna Karakhanyan, Dr. Anna Prades and Dr. Ariana de Vincenzi

2. Comprehensive Quality Assurance Workshop: Mastering Principles and Techniques of Quality Assurance in Higher Education A Practical Workshop: The context of quality assurance, facilitated by Dr. Mary Catharine Lennon and Dr. Fabrizio Trifiro

3. Comprehensive Quality Assurance Workshop: Mastering Principles and Techniques of Quality Assurance in Higher Education A Practical Workshop: Practical applications in quality assurance, facilitated by Dr. Mary Catharine Lennon and Dr. Fabrizio Trifiro

4. A force for good? Exploring critical approaches to quality assurance in the Global South, facilitated by Eduardo Ramos

5. Quality Assurance as a Catalyst for Refugee and Displaced Student Integration in Tertiary Education, facilitated by Dr. Nataliia Stukalo (in substitution of Amir Radfar) and Fabrice Hénard

Special Plenary Session: Insights from the INQAAHE Global Study on Trends in QA

Day 1

Bridging the Gap to Quality Education for All

KEYNOTE – Breaking barriers: bridging the gap to quality education for all, facilitated by Dr. Olusola Oyewole

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Roundtables:

• Sharing ideas and practices to enhance equity in Tertiary Education, facilitated by Dr. Anna Prades and Dr. Eva Fernández de Labastida

• Quality Assurance for Digital Education and Micro-credentials, facilitated by Mag. Diane Freiberger, MBA and Michael Stephan, M.A

• SWITEX (Swiss Index for Teaching Excellence) – A hands-on approach to improving didactic performance, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Michael Derrer

• How transnational education can serve to widen access to quality international education, facilitated by Dr. Fabrizio Trifiro

• Incorporating Criteria for social inclusion in the framework of ESG, facilitated by Prof. Siyka Chavdarova-Kostova

Designing Curricula for Societal Impact

KEYNOTE – Embracing relevance: designing curricula for societal impact, facilitated by Dr. Juliette E. Torabian

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Roundtables:

• Harmonizing Heterogeneity: Ensuring Quality in Interdisciplinary programs offered through a ‘Multiversity’ Framework, facilitated by Samah Gamar, PhD

• Curricular Mapping for Societal Impact: a strategic framework for curriculum design, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Eglantina Hysa, Prof. Dr. Marius Gabriel Petrescu and Prof. Dr. Mirela Panait

• Responding to the Third Qatar National Development Strategy: an NCQAA Perspective, facilitated by Dr. Mazen O. Hasna and Dr. Rashid S. Al-Kuwari

• From goals to gains: embedding social impact and sustainability literacy into the curriculum, facilitated by Dr. Scott G. Blair and Dr. Kerr Castle

Design-thinking workshops:

• Academic integrity-artificial intelligence nexus, facilitated by Assoc. Prof. Fernando F. Padró and Prof. Karen Trimmer

• Quality nursing education: linking the curriculum to program assessment, facilitated by Dr. Nell Ard, RN, CNE, ANEF and Keri Nunn-Ellison, EdD, MSN/Ed, RN, CNE

PANEL DISCUSSION – Greening higher education: Social responsibility and quality assurance at systemic and institutional level, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Simona Lache, INQAAHE Board Director/Vice-Rector at Transivania University of Brasov Romania. Panelists from UNESCO (Dr. Francesc Pedró), Tertiary Education Institution (Professor Olusola Oyewole), Quality Assurance Agencies (Renato Bartet, CNA Chile), Romanian Ministry of Education (Marioara Dobrescu, PhD, Counsellor), Student representative (Horia Oniță, ESU).

Day 2

Keeping tertiary education functioning and improving in conflict-affected areas: resilience and development, facilitated by Dr. Francesc Pedró

Fostering Civic Engagement

KEYNOTE – Empowering education: fostering civic engagement, facilitated by Dr. Kevin Kinser

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Design-thinking workshops:

Roundtables:

• Promoting civic engagement in higher education via the assessment and accreditation of tertiary institutions, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Ganesan Kannabiran and Dr. Vinita Sahu

• Ensuring inclusive and diverse teaching approaches within quality assurance protocols, facilitated by Petrișor L. Țucă, Radu-Ioan Ciobanu, Monica Drăgoicea and Ciprian Dobre

• Program Advisory Committees Supporting Ready, Informed and Engaged Students, facilitated by Karen Belfer, PhD and Sylvie Mainville, M.ed.

Fostering Opportunities for All Ages

KEYNOTE – Qualifying lifelong Learning: fostering opportunities for all ages, facilitated by Professor Romiță Iucu, Ph.D

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Roundtables:

• Access, transfer and progression for learners and the role of quality assurance agencies, facilitated by Bryan Maguire

• Aligning upskilling and reskilling training programmes to the needs of the industry and staff, facilitated by Dr. Rabie’e Al-Rashdi

• External quality assurance mechanisms to support the quality of blended and distance learning in tertiary education to foster learning opportunities for individuals of all ages. The Romanian approach, facilitated by Iordan PETRESCU. Prof. CEng PhD, Prof. Dr. Mircea NEAGOE, Alexandru CHIȘ, PhD. Assoc. Prof. and Florin MIHAI, PhD. Prof. 

Design-thinking workshop:

• Bridging HEIs and the Society for promoting the Lifelong Learning: A Case in Japan, facilitated by Akinori Matsuzaka and Miharu Kato

The compilation of all parallel sessions that were facilitated during the Forum is available here.