The European Union Programmes Agency (Eupa), in collaboration with the Malta Qualifications Council (MQC) and the National Commission for Higher Education (NCHE), is holding a seminar entitled ‘Quality Assurance: A National Bologna Process’ at the Victoria Hotel, Sliema, on November 19 between 8.30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The target audience for the seminar are all stakeholders in the education sector, particularly professionals involved in higher education.
The aim of the seminar is to evaluate the implementation of the quality assurance procedures in higher education at institutional, national and European levels, and to provide direct feedback from foreign and local experts on issues relating to quality assurance, a main focus of the Bologna objectives.
In the 1999 Bologna Declaration, European ministers of education pledged to develop coherent quality assurance and accreditation and certification mechanisms in their respective countries by 2010.
In the bi-annual ministerial conferences that followed, a number of important initiatives were adopted to step up cooperation on the matter between European countries.
Examples of such collaboration are the adoption of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area and the development of the European Quality Assurance Register, which were approved in 2005 at the Bologna Ministerial Summit.
The founding of the latter has led to a propagation of quality assurance and accreditation entities being established in several EU member states.
Cooperation is further en-hanced through the annual European Quality Assurance Forum, organised by the main European stakeholders on quality assurance.
These developments have highlighted the need of a quality culture in higher education in Malta, including adequate quality assurance procedures within further and higher education institutions, as well as a quality assurance framework at national level.
This activity is being funded with support from the European Commission, specifically from the national teams of Bologna experts.
More information about the Bologna Process can be found by visiting www.eupa.org.mt.
Those interested are invited to register for the seminar by sending an e-mail to bologna.eupa@gov.mt. Attendance is free of charge and on a first-come-first-served basis. The booking deadline is November 15 at noon.