INQAAHE Forum 2026 – Sun City (South Africa)

During the 2024 General Assembly Meeting held in Bucharest (Romania) under the frame of INQAAHE Forum 2024, proposals to host this event were formally presented by the different applying agencies. The INQAAHE members later on electronically voted for Forum 2026 to take place in Sun City (South Africa), hosted by the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

INQAAHE 15^th Biennial Forum 2026

Quality Assurance as an Impactful Tool
for Higher Education Today and Tomorrow

3-6 February 2026
Sun City (South Africa)
Hosted by the Council on Higher Education (CHE)

This Forum examined the impact of QA in ensuring quality amid expanding access to tertiary education, particularly across the African continent. It specifically:

• Reflected on how QA frameworks and practices can uphold standards in systems under upwards or downwards demographic pressure, and balance access and attraction goals with meaningful quality outcomes for diverse learners.

• Delved into how QA can act as a driver of innovation, inclusion, and sustainability—both within higher education and across broader societal contexts.

As tertiary education faces unprecedented global, political, technological, and social shifts, quality assurance must rise to meet the challenges—not only to maintain standards but to lead the change in shaping more equitable, resilient, and future-ready systems. This Forum invited quality assurance professionals, policymakers, educators, students, institutional leaders, professional bodies and employers to engage in a forward-looking dialogue on the impact of QA in diverse and dynamic contexts.

Discussions were structured around the following sub-themes:

1. Building trust in quality assurance systems across stakeholders
2. Enhancing the social and labor market relevance of macro and micro-credentials through QA
3. Leveraging technology and AI to strengthen impactful quality assurance
4. Widening access and growing participation while safeguarding quality

Forum materials of all sessions, including access to the official photos, are available below:

Official Photos

February 3, 2026 (Tue)

Pre-Forum Workshops

• Workshop 1: Futures of Learning and Teaching: A Quality Assurance Perspective, facilitated by Dr. Doris Viljoen (Director of Institute for Futures Research (IFR) at Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa) and Dr. Britta Zawada (linguist and former Chair of the Department of Linguistics at UNISA, South Africa).

• Workshop 2: Comprehensive QA Workshop: Mastering Principles and Techniques of QA in HE – A Practical Workshop. Morning session: The context of QA, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Olgun Çiçek (International Advisor, Turkey) and Dr. Mary Catharine Lennon (Interim Chief Executive Officer, INQAAHE; Head of Research, International and Special Projects, Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board, PEQAB, Canada).

• Workshop 3: Comprehensive QA Workshop: Mastering Principles and Techniques of QA in HE – A Practical Workshop (Continuation). Afternoon session: Practical Applications in QA, facilitated by Prof. Dr. Olgun Çiçek (International Advisor, Turkey) and Dr. Mary Catharine Lennon (Interim Chief Executive Officer, INQAAHE; Head of Research, International and Special Projects, Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board, PEQAB, Canada).

• Workshop 4: Micro-credentials in a Landscape of Flexibility and Quality Assurance. Morning session: Micro-credentials in Action: From Conceptual Design to Quality-Assured Practice, facilitated by Dr. Ariana de Vincenzi (INQAAHE Board Director and Academic Vice-Rector at the Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Argentina), Dr. Anna Prades (INQAAHE Board Director and Head of the Internationalisation and Knowledge Generation Department at the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU Catalunya), Spain), and Dr. Susanna Karakhanyan (Director at the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), United Arab Emirates).

• Workshop 5: Micro-credentials in a Landscape of Flexibility and Quality Assurance (Continuation). Afternoon session: Are you ready for Micro-credentialing? Key principles for effective implementation and quality assurance, facilitated by Dr. Prof. Martin Hall (Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town, South Africa), and Dr. Prof. Kirti Menon (Senior Director of Academic Planning, Quality Promotion and Academic Staff Development at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa).

• Workshop 6: Use of AI Tools in QA Processes, facilitated by Mr. Cato Rolea (Head of Digital Innovation & AI at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom).

February 4, 2026 (Wed)

Keynote Address

Microcredentials Uncorked: does Quality Assurance age well?, delivered by Mr. Simone Ravaioli, Director Global Academic Innovation at Instructure.

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Parallel Sessions

• [Session A] – An introduction to the revised INQAAHE’s International Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ISG) and ISG Review scheme for Quality Assurance Agencies. Roundtable delivered by INQAAHE
• [Session B] – From tokenism to trust: maturing internal quality assurance systems in African universities. Panel discussion delivered by Hardson Kwandayi (Zimbabwe Higher Education Council)
• [Session C] – Harnessing GenAI for Transformative Quality Assurance: Practical Integration and Impact. Workshop delivered by Marie Gould (Quality and Qualifications Ireland)
• [Session D] – Quality Assurance of Micro-Credentials for Lifelong Learning and Human Capital Development in Dubai. Workshop delivered by Dr. Naji Almahdi (Knowledge and Human Development Authority, KHDA)

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Parallel Sessions

• [Session A] – Adapting kgotla to internal quality assurance: Moving from compliance to collaborative enhancement. Workshop delivered by Kirti Menon and Gloria Castrillon (University of Johannesburg)
• [Session B] – Artificial Intelligence Use in Higher Education: Insights within the Perspective of Quality Assurance for Academic Accreditation in Qatar. Presentation delivered by Dr. Rima Isaifan (NCQAA, Qatar)
• [Session C] – AI Integration in Institutional Quality Assurance Audits: Phase 2 Implementation and Insights. Roundtable delivered by Sylvie Mainville and Karen Belfer (OCQAS, Canada)

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Parallel Sessions

• [Session A] – Transparency and Legitimacy in Quality Assurance Processes in HEIs in East Africa: How Openness in Evaluation Criteria and Reporting Affects Stakeholder Confidence. Workshop delivered by Dr. Kinene Namakula Amaal (Islamic University in Uganda)
• [Session B] – Between policy design and policy implementation: a comparative look at quality assurance of micro-credentials in South Africa and in Central Europe. Workshop delivered by Nastase Pusa and Derrick Zitha (Central European University)
• [Session D] – Driving change in Tertiary Education through the design of Quality Assurance – Scotland’s new Tertiary Enhancement Framework as a case study in stakeholder engagement and the use of international reference points. Workshop delivered by Debra Macfarlane and Amy Eberlin (QAA UK)

February 5, 2026 (Thu)

Keynote Address

Trust, Quality and Relevance: Towards a New Social Contract for Higher Education, delivered by Wesley Teter, PhD, Senior Specialist, Higher Education Section, UNESCO.

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Parallel Sessions

• [Session A] – Exploring the Challenges with Establishing Credibility in Young QA Systems. Workshop delivered by Perliter Walters-Gilliam (NBBE Consulting, USA)
• [Session B] – Regional Networks Meeting (by invitation only). Hybrid meeting moderated by Vicki Stott, INQAAHE President
• [Session C] – Quality Without Borders: Strengthening Trust in Macro- and Micro-Credentials for the Global Labour Market. Workshop delivered by Christiane Butler (FIBAA, Germany)
• [Session D] – Uncovering the Roots: From Superficial QA to Systematic Quality Management in Higher Education. Workshop delivered by Matilda F. Marful, University of Stuttgart
• [Session E] – Assuring Quality in the Age of Modality Multiplicity. Workshop delivered by Linda Meyer and Nadia Landman (Rosebank College; The Independent Institute of Education IIE)

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Parallel Sessions

• [Session A] – What Real Student Engagement in Quality Assurance in Higher Education Means – Case Studies Across Europe and Africa. Session delivered by the All-African Student Union (AASU), OBREAL and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
• [Session B] – Integrating micro-credentials into National Qualifications Frameworks: why it matters, and why it should be done with care. Panel discussion delivered by James Keevy (JET Education Services), Whitfield Green (Council on Higher Education South Africa), Nadia Starr (South African Qualifications Authority)
• [Session C] – Strengthening trust in remote and hybrid assessment through transparency, stakeholder co-creation, and integrity-driven quality assurance frameworks. Fishbowl session delivered by Noèlia Grifo and Carme Edo (AQU Catalunya)
• [Session D] – Embedding Financial Sustainability into Quality Assurance Frameworks: Endowment Governance as a Driver of Institutional Excellence. Roundtable delivered by Nayer Fardows (Forman Christian College)
• [Session E] – The Trust Divide: What the US Accreditation Crisis Warns Us About. Roundtable delivered by Keri Nunn-Ellison and Melissa Tillson (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing)