Register for FREE to the 2023 Annual Conference, 25th & 26th May (via Zoom)

We wrote to all member institutions recently to announce the 2023 Annual Conference. Hopefully colleagues have shared that information with you already. However, it’s not too late to register and we have an absolutely fantastic programme on offer. Keynote speakers include international quality assurance expert Lucien Bollaert (Ghent University) and Asnate Kažoka (AIC, the Latvian Quality Assurance Agency). The programme also includes sessions for PhD researchers, university managers, academic colleagues and anyone with an interest in quality assurance. Attendance is COMPLETELY FREE for all academics, staff and students from member institutions. So please share this newsletter with your whole University community. All you have to do to register is email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your name and institution.

Download the full conference programme, speaker biographies and joining instructions

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Lucien Bollaert, International QA expert, Ghent University

Keynote 2: Beyond the ESG - Perspectives on Changing Standards

Lucien Bollaert is independent international QA expert and visiting professor on QA systems. Currently he is member of the Quality Education Board of Ghent
University assessing programmes with a new IQA system he helped to develop as well as the next one, and involved in its European University Alliance, ENLIGHT.
He is also member of the Flemish Higher Education Commission, member of the Portuguese A3ES Science Council, and leading IQA expert in the World Bank project on reforming QA in Uzbekistan.

Recently he was member of the institutional review teams for the Irish QQI, being a former member of its Policy and Strategy Committee, for HEA, and for Louvain University mid-term review. He is the author of an inspiring best-seller, “A Manual for IQA in HE - Looking for a new quality in HE in a new world” (EURASHE: Brussels, 2019, 2nd edition) and of peer- re-viewed articles. In 2020 he was co-author of the “Guide for effective Stakeholders’ Involvement in Quality Assurance”. He is a keynote speaker on QA, Quality Culture, Strategy and Governance of HEIs, LOs and QFs at yearly international conferences such as EQAF, of which he is a co-founder, and the Eurasian QA Forum. After being member of the ESG (2005) E4 group, he became vice-chair of EQAR’s Register Committee (2008-2016). 

He was board member of the NVAO, ECA, AEQES and EQ-Arts. He has been on technical assistance Missions in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Tunisia and Ukraine. He was also member of EQF 1st expert committee.

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Asnate Kažoka, Head of Development and International Cooperation Unit, Academic Information Centre (AIC), Latvia

Keynote 1: Institutional and Programmatic Standards

Asnate Kažoka currently serves as the Head of Development and International Cooperation Unit for the Latvian Quality Agency for Higher Education which is the national body responsible for quality assurance in higher education in Latvia. She has been involved in development and revision of all assessment guidelines and methodologies used by the agency. Her previous experience includes a position at the Quality Management and Audit Department of the University of Latvia where she was responsible for developing and maintaining internal quality management system of the university. She has been involved in higher education policy discussions on the national and European level and acted as national Bologna expert. She serves as external expert for a number of quality assurance agencies in Europe and has performed programme, cluster and institutional reviews. She also cooperates with the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and performs reviews of quality assurance agencies.

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Congratulations to United International Business Schools (UIBS), whose PhD and DBA programs have been re-accredited for four years. The review team praised the institution’s comprehensive quality assurance policies and processes, study adviser system, international faculty, and personal connections between doctoral candidates and teaching staff. The team also identified a series of recommendations for further improvement.

Download the full review report
Download the Commissioners' report
Download the decision letter

View the accreditation history of United International Business Schools.

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