Algebra’s Institute for Quality in Education organized a full-day conference on January 19, 2023, titled ‘Quality Assurance in Education‘. This specialized and critically needed conference for the profession, featuring panel discussions and workshops, was a unique opportunity for educational experts to meet and exchange views on the extremely important topic of ensuring the quality of educational processes.
The conference brought together self-evaluation coordinators from vocational schools, staff from internal quality assurance departments at polytechnics, faculties, and universities, directors of vocational schools, adult education institutions, vice-deans and deans of higher education institutions, members of teams and/or quality committees, and numerous other professionals related to the field of education and quality of education.
The primary goal of the conference was to provide insight into current issues related to quality assurance in the educational system at both the EU level and within Croatia. Additionally, the conference stimulated discussion on various tools and models used in ensuring and improving quality at all levels of education. Due to increased accessibility and the massification of higher education and the growing need for creating quality offerings of continuous professional development, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure and improve the quality of education. The development of new and innovative learning methods, along with the application of digital tools, creates a need for new, flexible educational offerings in line with the rapid changes and demands of society and the market. For all these reasons, the quality of education is one of the key European development priorities to which we aim to contribute through this conference.
The conference ‘Quality Assurance in Education’ gathered about two hundred top domestic experts in the field of education and four international speakers. We highlight Klara Engels-Pereny and Julie Anderson from the European Commission, Melinda Szabó from the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), Ricardo Espinoza from the OECD Skills Centre, as well as Maja Jukić, Ivana Pilko Čunčić, head of the Secondary Education and Adult Education Sector at the Ministry of Science and Education, Sandra Bezjak, acting director of the Agency for Science and Higher Education, Marta Žuvić, vice-rector of the University of Rijeka, Ognjen Piljek Žiljak, Mateja Mandić, and Antonija Merdžan from the Agency for Vocational Education and Training, as well as Algebra’s experts – Mislav Balković, dean of Algebra College, Ana Tecilazić, secretary general of Algebra College, and Anja Raić Škarić, who actively participates in the quality assurance project in adult education conducted by the Agency for Vocational Education and Training.
