Between November 17-19, 2022, the Western University of Timișoara hosts, for the first time for Romania, the European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) 2022, the largest and most prestigious international conference in the field of quality assurance of university education. More than 300 international participants are expected at the event, a new important moment in the internationalization of Romanian university education.
EQAF creates a framework for debates, professional development and exchange of best practices for all entities involved in the quality assurance process of university education, namely universities, external quality assessment agencies, European institutions or student organizations. The conference is organized by the members of the E4 group: European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), European University Association (EUA), European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and European Students' Union (ESU). The Ministry of Education is a partner of the event.
This year's conference theme is Shaping or sharing? QA in a value-driven EHEA (European Higher Education Area). This theme will combine several communication sessions on policies and trends at European level, research and practical examples on current developments in quality assurance. The shared values of democratic higher education systems – such as academic freedom, institutional autonomy, student participation in the governance of higher education institutions, inclusion and equity – are at the center of the debates proposed within the conference. These values come to strengthen and unite higher education systems, but also to encourage cooperation and international mobility, while allowing institutions to independently develop their own goals. Recent social challenges have highlighted the need for decision-makers, higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies to continuously discuss these values and ensure they are supported, protected and promoted in the European Higher Education Area.
UVT rector, Marilen Gabriel Pirtea: "The quality of university education is in the debate of several platforms and forums of research and professional communication around the world. Among these, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education – ENQA) represents a melting pot of educational values and benchmarks in European higher education. We are honored to host the international conference in the field of quality assurance of university education EQAF 2022, a first for Romania. This moment is an auspicious moment for the affirmation of the Timișoara university center in the European landscape of education and also to convey a message to all the personalities who will participate in these days at the conference, to return in 2023 to Timișoara, city that will support the European Capital of Culture program next year."
