NEAQA’s Secretary-General Janko Balšić represented NEAQA at the Bologna Hub Conference in the Western Balkans: Sharing Knowledge – Building Networks, held from October 19 to 20, 2023, at the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade.
The organiser of this event was the German Erasmus+ National Agency for Higher Education within the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service, under the slogan “Sharing knowledge – building networks”. The conference brought together representatives of higher education institutions from Serbia and the broader region of the Western Balkans, as well as colleagues from Germany and other countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The first day of the conference was devoted to thematic exchange on the latest developments in the Bologna process, and the second day to networking activities. The conference aimed to exchange knowledge and practice on the key commitments of the Bologna Process in terms of recognition, quality assurance and the framework of qualifications.
On behalf of the University of Belgrade, the rector, prof. Vladan Đokić, PhD, welcomed the participants, emphasising the importance of the Bologna process and inviting the participants to find ways for practical academic cooperation in the region within their academic communities and institutions. The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Serbia, Ms Anke Konrad, pointed out the need for integration and achieving stable progress within the framework of joint programs of universities in the Western Balkans.
On the first day of the Conference, in the session called Spotlight on the Bologna Key Commitments, NEAQA’s Secretary-General had the opportunity to speak about supporting European QA agencies in the context of their compliance with European Standards and Guidelines (ESG), considering that NEAQA is a project partner in the SEQA-ESG2 project, which has the aim to support the countries of the Western Balkans and their agencies in achieving full compliance with ESG, and thus fulfilling key QA commitments.
