On September 26-29, 2024, Saint Petersburg, Russia, became the hospitable venue for the APQN Annual Academic Conference entitled “Quality Assurance and Global Tertiary Education: Navigating Challenges and Embracing Innovation.”
Over 60 representatives of quality assurance agencies and higher education institutions from Russia, Bangkok, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan were in attendance. The Certification Association “Russian Register” hosted the event.
During the conference, the participants shared opinions and discussed solutions related to the issues of QA for cross-border higher education, elaborated on innovations and future trends in QA, searched the ways to foster excellence in education, and explored the vital role of internal quality assurance in ensuring consistency, facilitating improvement, and benefiting learners.
The keynote speakers of the conference were:
Dr. Wesley Teter, Senior Consultant for the Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development (EISD), UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok), Thailand;
Mr. Jiang He, Deputy Director of the Education Quality Evaluation Agency of MOE (EQEA), China;
Prof. Nadia Badrawi, President of ANQAHE, Member of Advisory Board of CIQG& NARIC-TNE, Prof. Emeritus of Pediatrics Cairo University, Egypt.
NCPA was represented by Dr. Galina Motova, NCPA’s Director and APQN President; Cand. Sc. Oksana Tanikova, Deputy Head of the Accreditation Department; Anna Ishutkina; and Marina Kurdiumova, Staff of the International Relations Office.
As President of APQN, Dr. Galina Motova, opened the conference with an inspiring and informative Welcome and Theme Address providing a global overview of the current trends in the sphere of education and laying the foundation for constructive collaboration throughout the conference.
Liudmila Skakovskaia, Senator and Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education, and Culture, delivered a warm welcome to the conference attendees, underscoring the significance of these events for the international academic community.
Oksana Tanikova enjoyed the honour of being a plenary speaker with a presentation exploring benefits of joint accreditation as a way to enhance QA policies. The presentation captured the interest of the audience and stimulated Q&A.
Anna Ishutkina and Marina Kurdiumova contributed to the conference by presenting in parallel sessions. Recognition of qualifications and stakeholders' view of academic integrity encouraged participants to share their experiences in this field.
On behalf of APQN, Dr. Galina Motova was an acting party of the two signing ceremonies: the Agreement on Asia-Pacific Quality Label—one of the projects of the Asia-Pacific Quality Register—and the Agreement with the next host of the APQN Annual Academic Conference—the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ).
Along with providing an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience regarding quality assurance in higher education, the conference was a huge success mainly because it marked the continuation of a long-lasting friendship and collaboration among APQN members: quality assurance agencies and educators committed to internal and external quality assurance in higher education.