June 4, 2024
Bar Camp Day
The Fourth of July marked a memorable Bar Camp Day, bringing together many familiar faces from our "THEA Ukraine X" project and its sister project "Management of Internationalisation" organized by Leibniz University Hannover. The event saw Higher Education Managers, predominantly from Ukraine and other European higher education area (EHEA) countries, engage in insightful discussions on the future of Higher Education Management. Ronny Heintze (representative from AQAS e.V.) delivered a comprehensive overview of recent trends in Quality Assurance within the EHEA, focusing on the ESG before and after Tirana. His presentation set the stage for a series of enriching sessions by participants from various Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). These sessions covered a range of relevant topics, including Academic Freedom, Mapping Uncertainties, and internationalization. Beyond that the IDG Düsseldorf Hub joined us and introduced the concept of the Inner Development Goals (IDGs), which can also be used for sustainability in the area of Higher Education Management. Our unconference format encouraged active participation, spontaneous discussions, the exchange of diverse perspectives, peer learning, and networking.
June 4 - 7, 2024
Final Conference STEP UAS
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). The final conference for the project "Transformation of Comprehensive Universities to Universities of Applied Sciences" was held in Addis Ababa, marking the highlight of efforts to support the transformation of 15 comprehensive universities into universities of applied sciences (UAS). During the conference, students contributed their perspectives, we helped with networking between the 15 universities and we focussed primarily on the sustainability of our activities in the "Transformation of Comprehensive Universities to Universities of Applied Sciences" project. Additionally Stakeholders exchanged ideas with the sister project FAITH.
The initiative, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), and the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, supports the Ethiopian government's "Differentiation Strategy" which aims to complete this transformation by 2032. We have supported this process with training courses for university leaders and teaching staff, study tours to Germany and various application projects at the UASs themselves. The final steps include documenting lessons learned and recommendations for the further process.
The project's success relied on the combined efforts of German partners, including FH Münster, Hochschule Osnabrück, and CHE Centre for Higher Education, along with committed Ethiopian colleagues.
April 22 - 24, 2024
Last face-to-face Workshop SADC-QA
Windhuk (Namibia). Another training course on higher education management and quality management in the SADC region (SADC-QA) came to an end last week with the last face-to-face workshop in Namibia. We are pleased that University of Potsdam invited experts of the Wandelwerk to accompany another cohort. Over the course of a year, 30 university representatives from 12 Southern African countries took part in the training and implemented development projects at their universities. This last workshop was thankfully co-hosted by the University of Namibia (UNAM). It concluded with a focus on future topics of higher education development, such as the use of AI in studies and teaching as well as the contribution of universities to the implementation of the SDGs. TrainIQA is a project funded by the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service and the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz in the DIES programme line that the University of Potsdam has been successfully implementing for several years. The training course in South Africa is supported by SARUA - Southern African Regional Universities Association as a local partner.
March 25 - 28, 2024
New Cohort THEA Ukraine X
We're excited to have launched the third cohort of THEA Ukraine X, a DAAD funded project for Ukrainian Higher Education Managers at FH Münster University of Applied Science in collaboration with Sumy State University. From March 25 - 28, the participants of cohort III and other guests were invited at Münster University of Applied Sciences. The event featured hybrid sessions with didactic training, insights from THEA X alumni, a panel on "Internationalization in Times of Crisis" with partners from Sumy State University, DAAD, Leibniz University Hannover, and much more. Our face-to-face meeting at FH Münster marked the commencement of exciting multiplication projects. In the coming months, our 7 selected participants will conduct trainings on different topics of higher education management at Ukrainian HEIs, together with an experienced tandem trainer at their side. We are very happy that we once again have such a great group of motivated participants on board and that we can once again draw on the experience of our inspiring tandem trainers.
November 23 - 25, 2023
European Quality Assurance Forum
Aveiro (Portugal). We were thrilled that our workshop proposal for the European Quality Assurance Forum was selected! Together with representatives from Quality Assurance Agencies and Higher Education Institutions from the European Higher Education Area and beyond, we were discussing the interesting question, in how far the we look through a "European lense" when applying the ESG in international accreditation procedures around the globe or in how far, the culture specifics are and can be taken into account. Thanks for your fruitful contributions!
November 13 - 17, 2023
National Multiplication Training in Rwanda
Kigali (Rwanda). The kick-off for the National Multiplication Training in Rwanda focussed on the topic of quality management at universities. In addition to national and continental developments in Rwanda and Africa, it also focussed on change management at universities. We are delighted to be part of the second NMT in Rwanda! The next workshop will take place in June 2024.
November 6 - 10, 2023
Transformation of Ethopian UAS
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). We completed our last capacity building workshop for teachers for the time being as part of our project "Transformation of Comprehensive Universities to Universities of Applied Sciences" (in cooperation with Hochschule Osnabrück & CHE Centre for Higher Education) in Addis Ababa. The focus was on case studies of practice-orientated teaching by our Ethiopian colleagues and on the topic of service learning. We also looked at the important topic of diversity and academic success. In addition, 33 participants also received a project management workshop to prepare them for implementing a change project at their universities. Over the next few months, they will be supported by our project coaches and will present the results of their activities at our next meeting in Addis Ababa at the end of May / beginning of June 2024.
October 31 - November 2, 2023
National Multiplication Training in Namibia
Windhoek (Namibia). The first workshop in the National Multiplication Training in Namibia was dedicated to the topic of Strengthening Internal Quality Assurance and Study Programme Development in Higher Education Institutions in Namibia. After highlighting various thematic aspects, we also delved into the success factors of good project management, preparing project implementations at the Namibian Universities.
October 26-27, 2023
THEA Ukraine X continues!
Ukraine & Germany (online). Good news: Our project THEA Ukraine X was prolonged for another year and we could offer an additional workshop this year on the topic of International Proposal Writing and International Project Management. In our group of participants from various cohorts of the project, we exchanged good practices & good proposal writing strategies and thus hopefully prepared the ground for more international collaboration projects.
October 12-13, 2023
Internationalisation of Georgian Universities
Batumi (Georgia). In our first site visit at the Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University in the frame of the Bologna Hub Peer Support project, we provided an interactive workshop on internationalization & mobility and also joined case-based discussions about current trends in curriculum design in Georgia. It was great to meet so many enthusiastic programme supervisors, QA managers, teaching and administrative staff!
October 2-3, 2023
Bologna reforms in Bosnia Herzegovina
Banja Luka (Bosnia Herzegovina). The University's Faculty of Law invited us as externals to discuss with them ideas about reform concepts on the formulation of learning outcomes, curriculum development/modularisation and quality assurance in accordance with the ESG. In the framework of the Bologna Hub Peer Support project, we set up a two-day kick-off event with both internal counselling sessions with the faculty team as well as an external workshop with various representatives from teaching staff, students and also members of the accreditation agencies. We look forward to accompanying the ongoing reforms!
September 29, 2023
Ukraine Days NRW
Essen (Germany). On 29 September, we introduced our project activities THEA and THEA Ukraine X in the framework of the Ukraine Days NRW in Essen. Here, impressive science cooperations were presented as well as various offers of support for Ukraine.
September 27-28, 2023
DAAD Ukraine conference
Berlin (Germany). We were invited by the DAAD to the Ukraine conference "Higher Education in Times of War: German-Ukrainian University Cooperations between Emergency Aid and Shaping the Future". We did not only present our projects THEA Ukraine and THEA Ukraine X, we even had the chance to meet some of our Ukrainian project partners there and were eager to discuss the future of German-Ukrainian projects with other university representatives, members of DAAD and politicians. Looking forward to continuing our Ukraine projects!
September 21-22, 2023
Project site visit in Moldova
Chișinău (Moldova). Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova organized three workshop sessions during our first site visit in the frame of the Bologna Hub Peer Support project. With both members of the administrative as well as members of the teaching staff, we discussed questions of internationalization, such as Joint Programmes or COILS, and we exchanged learnings on recent trend topics such as Microcredentials, Digitalization and Artifical Intelligence in Teaching&Learning.
August 7 -11, 2023
Quality Assurance in the SADC Region
Potsdam (Germany). The second workshop of the SADC-QA programme was all about evaluations at universities. It was not only about asking meaningful questions, but also about the question of how evaluations can actually be used for further development. The project coaching sessions showed that the vast majority of our participants' application projects have also made remarkable progress: Among other things, quality policies are developed, self-evaluations are carried out and graduate studies are designed. TrainIQA SADC-QA is funded by the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service and the Hochschulrektorenkonferenz as part of the DIES programme and supported by SARUA - Southern African Regional Universities Association. There are 30 participants from 11 countries in the SADC region taking part in the training.
July 24 - 28, 2023
Conference on National Multiplication Trainings
Berlin (Germany). Colleagues from Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa met in Berlin, all of them alumni of a DIES programme by DAAD German Academic Exchange Service and Hochschulrektorenkonferenz. Some of them have already done a National Multiplication Training (NMT) in their region in 2021/2022. Others have participated in a Training of Trainers, as they will be conducting an NMT in 2023/2024. We are looking forward to acoompanying our three trainings this year in Namibia, Rwanda and Mauritius!
June 26-27, 2023
Celebrating Collaboration in Higher Education Management: THEA Ukraine X Summer Camp
Münster (Germany). The "Agility in Higher Education Management and Networking" summer camp marked a remarkable milestone in our project "THEA Ukraine X", celebrating participant certification and the joyous reunion in presence after collaborating in online mode only. The event highlighted four years of fruitful cooperation with Sumy State University and our dedicated tandem trainers. Thirteen multiplication trainings engaged participants from various Ukrainian Higher Education Institutions, bringing together 27 HEIs from 17 cities across Ukraine. Gratitude was expressed to esteemed partners, including PNRM Ukraine, Deutsch-Ukrainisches Forum e.V., AQAS e.V., Leibniz Universität Hannover, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and DAAD German Academic Exchange Service, for their continuous support. The THEA Ukraine X summer camp left participants optimistic about the future of agile and innovative higher education management and we look forward to continued collaborations and networking.
June 22, 2023
International Deans' Course at FH Münster
Münster (Germany). We welcomed a delegation of 30 deans from East and West Africa at FH Münster. In the framework of the "International Deans' Course", coordinated by our colleagues from Fachhochschule Osnabrück, we implemented the workshop on quality assurance in Higher Education jointly with a trainers team from Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa.
In addition to the presentation of various quality management systems at higher education institutions from Africa, the agenda also included presentations and discussions on the dynamic development of the African Higher Education Area. The International Deans' Course is supported in the DIES framework implemented by DAAD German Academic Exchange Service and Hochschulrektorenkonferenz.
May-June, 2023
International Accreditations 2023
Lithuania and Lebanon. This year, we took part in two international institutional accreditations. From 02-05 May, we were active as secretary of the international reviewing panel in the SKVC accreditation of a Lithuanian University. From 19-21 of June, we contributed in the expert panel evaluating the implementation of the ESG (European Standards and Guidelines) at a Lebanese University seeking a European accreditation from ACQUIN.
Mai 09, 2023
Second visit from Ethiopia in Münster (Germany)
Münster (Germany). Our collaborative project with Hochschule Osnabrück and CHE - Centre for Higher Education "Transformation of Comprehensive Universities to Universities of Applied Sciences" funded and supported by GIZ, hosted its second delegation. The delegation consisted of 21 university presidents, vice-presidents, representatives of GIZ Ethiopia and the Ministry of Education - Ethiopia. The visit provided an opportunity for lively exchange and learning between the Ethiopian colleagues and the FH Münster on the topic of practice-oriented teaching at Universities of Applied Sciences.
April 27, 2023
Capacity Development for UAS Transformation
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Our recent efforts to transform 14 Higher Education Institutions in Ethiopia to Universities of Applied Sciences have been successful thanks to the support GIZ Ethiopia and Djibouti / Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. We have just concluded our 2nd workshop for 120 Ethiopian lecturers and 40 managers, aimed at equipping them with the necessary skills to drive this transformation. The consortium members, (Hochschule Osnabrück, CHE Centre for Higher Education & FH Münster), have been instrumental in providing expertise and guidance throughout this process. By transforming these Higher Education Institutions to Universities of Applied Sciences, the projects aims to create a more practical and hands-on approach to learning that will benefit both students and industries in Ethiopia. Photograph taken by Abinet Shiferaw.
March 25, 2023
Training programme in Johannesburg
Johannesburg (South Africa). We have been sending trainers for the TrainIQA projects of the University of Potsdam (UP) for several years. Together with the wonderful team at UP, we have already been active several times in East, West and now Southern Africa with trainings on internal quality development at universities. Recently, we started the 1-year training programme for a second cohort of 30 participants from higher education institutions in the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) region.
March 16, 2023
Visit from Ethiopia in Münster (Germany)
Münster (Germany). As part of our project "Transformation of Comprehensive Universities to Universities of Applied Sciences" (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH), which we are carrying out in cooperation with the Hochschule Osnabrück, we welcomed a delegation of 15 university presidents, representatives of GIZ Ethiopia and the Ministry of Education - Ethiopia at FH Münster. At Münster UAS, the focus was on applied research and university ecosystems. In addition to a visit to our Makerspace at the Steinfurt campus, the programme included discussions with Vice President Carsten Schröder, scientists from two engineering departments and the Science-to-Business Marketing Research Centre.
February 24, 2023
Kick-off workshop THEA Ukraine X for Cohort 2
Ukraine (online). We celebrated the launch of the second cohort in our THEA Ukraine X project which we conduct with Sumy State University. Cohorts 1 and 2 exchanged ideas and experiences. In the coming months, our 6 selected participants will conduct multiplication trainings on different topics of higher education management at Ukrainian universities together with an experienced tandem trainer. We are very happy that we once again have such a great group of motivated participants on board and that we can once again draw on the experience of inspiring tandem trainers!
December 14, 2022
Project kick-off in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, fourteen selected Higher Education Institutions are to undergo a transformation to become Universities of Applied Sciences. With our project "Transformation of Comprehensive Universities to Universities of Applied Sciences", Hochschule Osnabrück, CHE Centre for Higher Education and FH Münster are accompanying this process with the support of UAS7, the strategic alliance of Germany's Leading UASs. The project can be implemented thanks to the funding and support of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. In December we kicked-off our project that will ensure our cooperation with Ethiopia until the end of 2024.
December 6, 2022
Visit from Makerere Unviversity Uganda Münster, Germany.
Prof. Dr Godfrey Akileng and Prof. Dr Seperia Bwadene Wanyama from Makerere University in Uganda visited the Münster School of Business (MSB) and took the opportunity to also visit us in the Wandelwerk, our internal QA office, to learn more about our internal QA activities and to discuss about current developments in the East African Higher Education Area.
November 23, 2022
International Institutional Accreditations 2022
Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Cyprus and Indonesia (online). Besides our training and consulting activities, we have lately also been engaged in international institutional accreditation procedures as international peer reviewers. It is so great to dive deeply into the structures and processes of different universities around the globe, to bring in our own experience and get enriched at the same time. After visiting Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Cyprus and Indonesia (online) in 2022, we are looking forward to more procedures in 2023!
November 21, 2022
EU-SHARE closing conference Qualification Frameworks & QA
Jakarta, Indonesia. After almost 8 years, the EU Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) project will come to an end at the end of 2022. At the closing conference for the EU-SHARE result areas Qualifications Frameworks & Quality Assurance we not only celebrated the alumni of the training on internal quality assurance, but also appreciated the successful implementation of the peer multiplier trainings to both of which we had the opportunity to contribute.
October 27, 2022
Resilience Day - What we can learn from crises
Ukraine & Germany (online). After experiencing global crises like the Covid-19 pandemic or the war in Ukraine, Higher Education Institutions are facing new challenges and the concept of resilience is becoming of crucial importance for both individuals and institutions. Therefore, in the frame of our project "THEA Ukraine X", we organized a "Resilience Day", where Higher Education Managers from Ukraine and other countries could exchange their experiences and ideas. Thanks go to our cooperation partners from Sumy State University and Leibniz University Hannover!
August 19, 2022
SHARE Peer Multiplier Training (PMT) - Lead-QA
Kampar Perak, Malaysia (hybrid). We supported the peer multiplier training "Lead-QA" at the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, funded by the EU-SHARE initiative, with two sessions on coaching/mentoring and QA leadership. Under the umbrella of PMTs, members of SHARE Universities are eligible for a grant to conduct multiplication activities in Southeast Asian universities. The hybrid setting makes it possible - The hybrid setting makes it possible - today in Mozambiqe, tomorrow in Malaysia.
August 12, 2022
National Multiplication Training in Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda. The National Multiplication Training (NMT) on Project Management and Curriculum Design at Kepler College Rwanda came to a close today. In the first ever NMT in Rwanda, ten participants completed the training with a certificate that enables them to apply for funding to implement an NMT themselves . The team of facilitators comprised experts from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Germany.
August 4, 2022
Online Training on new technologies and innovative teaching methods in Mozambique
Mozambique (online). Today we have our kick-off workshop on new technologies and innovative teaching methods for a group of teachers from Ruvoma University and Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. The 5-part workshop series will focus on interactive online teaching, video production and engaging presentations until 2 September 2022.
July 20-22, 2022
THEA Ukraine X: Kick-off workshop for cohort 1
Ukraine (online). In our kick-off workshop for our project "THEA Ukraine X", seven selected participants of the first cohort were trained to become a trainer and were thus prepared to conduct Multiplication Trainings for Higher Education Administrators in Ukraine at their home institutions starting this autumn. They will be supported by Tandem Trainers (most of them alumni from THEA Ukraine), who took part in our "Train-the-Tandem-Trainer-workshop" in June.
July 12-14, 2022
Staff Training for Quality Managers from Western Balkans and Neighbourhood East
Saarbrücken, Germany. Within the Erasmus staff training week, 23 Quality Managers from Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine visited Saarland University and were trained by us in the quality-oriented introduction of study programmes. It was great discussing the various practices of Quality Assurance and Quality Enhancement in all the involved countries!
June 23, 2022
Peer Multiplier Training for ASEAN Universities
ASEAN region (hybrid). To further disseminate and promote concepts, approaches, and knowledge about higher education management, EU-SHARE has implemented the second round of the Peer Multiplier Training (PMT) in June 2022 for Higher Education (HE) stakeholders in the ASEAN region. In the framework of this training of trainers concept, participants were supported in planning a dissemination project, for which they had the opportunity to receive funding from the SHARE Programme.
June 22, 2022
IQA self-study material published open access
Africa. In the framework of the HAQAA2 initiative FH Münster's Wandelwerk. Centre for Quality Assurance and Enhancement has implemented the training "IQA-4-Africa - From Pan-African Policy to Practice" together with a range of international experts. In addition to the training, self-study material on Quality Assurance in African Higher Education has been developed comprising videos, texts and other resources in 6 modules dealing with higher education management and Quality Management in Africa. The material is now available in an open access format.
June 15, 2022
Training on Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) for SHARE Partner Universities
ASEAN region (online). Following a community of practice meeting and a needs assessment survey participation in a training on internal quality assurance in higher education was offered to members of EU-SHARE partner universities from 8 - 15 Jun. For active and full participation in the training, a joint certificate by the SHARE Programme and FH Münster University of Applied Sciences was awarded to the participants.
May 6, 2022
Online Bar Camp for Ukrainian Higher Education Managers
Ukraine (online). With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, many support activities for Ukrainian students, teaching staff and researchers have emerged, but not many opportunities are addressed specifically at Ukrainian HE Managers. Within FH Münster's project "THEA UKraine X" and in cooperation with Leibniz University Hannover, we were therefore organizing an Online Bar Camp with over 100 Ukrainian Higher Education Managers, who were interested in active networking and in an exchange about current topics in HE management.
April 26, 2022
Interactive Internationalization of Curricula
Sweden (online). In our Second Site Visit at Jönköping University, we offered an interactive workshop on "Internationalization of Curricula" in the frame of the Bologna Hub Peer Support Project, coordinated by DAAD. In this interactive format, we were able to have inspiring exchanges and brainstorming on how we can really enable the students to gain an "international mindset", which is so important in today's world!
April 25, 2022
Quality Assurance & Future Universities
Poland (online). Our second consulting meeting with the Jagiellonian University in Poland in the frame of the Bologna Hub Peer Support (BHPS), coordinated by DAAD, was a great success! Together with Bologna expert Eglantina Hysa (Albania) we were invited to talk about Quality assurance in compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, experiences with Institutional Accreditation and had some interesting brainstorming on Future Universities.
March 29, 2022
Sharing our experiences with Moldovan QM Managers
Leipzig (online). In an online seminar on international institutional accreditation within the Erasmus+ project QFORTE (Enhancement of Quality Assurance in Higher Education System in Moldova) hosted by Leipzig University on 29-30 March 2022, we contributed our experiences and good practices on both the German model of "system accreditation" as well as international accreditation procedures.
March 10, 2022
NMT at Kepler Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda: Within the framework of a National Multiplication Training, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and conducted by the University of Potsdam, the HEM Programme supported a great first workshop of the training and we are looking forward to the results of the project plans of the 20 participants, who are now being supported in the implementation of their projects on curriculum development, learning material development etc. through coaching by the Kepler team.
January 21, 2022
Visiting Lecture in Ukraine
Lviv, Ukraine (online). In the aftermath of a successful project collaboration we were invited to give a visiting lecture on Quality Assurance and Internationalisation to students of the Master Programme "Organization of Educational Space: Management and Expertise" at the Faculty of Pedagogical Education, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. In the framework of their course "Expert Activity in Education", we were engaged in an interesting discussion about the role of experts, the challenges of international projects and recent trends in Higher Education.
December 16, 2021
Quality Assurance Workshop in Jordan
Jordan (online). In a 3-day interactive workshop on the "Quality-oriented introduction of study programmes", we were working with Jordanian Higher Education Managers from the University of Jordan, Hashemite University and Yarmouk University. The workshop took place within the framework of Saarland University's project "Developing Jordanian Universities' Innovation Capacities and Entrepreneurship Education (JUICEE)", which is funded by DAAD.
December 7, 2021
Kick-off Workshop for ASEAN Higher Education Institutions
Jakarta (online). The Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) Programme is the European Union's flagship higher education programme with ASEAN. The SHARE Programme operates since 2015 with the agreement for a programme extension between the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission until the end of 2022. We are looking forward to working in the region next year through training activities on higher education and quality management, and have conducted a kick-off workshop to assess the needs of ASEAN higher education institutions in these areas. A survey will follow early next year so that we can offer a tailor-made training concept.
December 3, 2021
Final IQA-Workshop of HAQAA
Africa (online). Harmonisation of African Higher Education, Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) is an initiative that has been established to support the development of a harmonised quality assurance and accreditation system at institutional, national, regional and Pan-African continental level. It is funded by the European Union Commission, in the context of the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership. We were again facilitators at the fourth and last training course for QA professionals in universities.
November 25, 2021
First NMT-Workshop for The Gambia
The Gambia (online). We contributed to the first hybrid workshop in the framework of NMT The Gambia with our long-time cooperation partner WAAQAN (West African Anglophone QA Network) on the topic of quality management at universities. The hybrid arrangement was a bit daring, but it opened up the possibility of bringing in other colleagues from Nigeria and all over the world in addition to the 20 participants on site at the University of the Gambia.
November 18,2021
European Quality Assurance Forum 2021
Finland (online). This year's European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) dealt with the topics of building trust & enhancement in quality management. With a discussion starter on "Agility & Trust in Quality Management at HEIs" we contributed an agile perspective on the question how to pave the road to meaningful standards and criteria in higher education institutions.
November 17, 2021
IQA in Vietnam
Hanoi (online). Welcoming the 65th anniversary of Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) in 2021, DAAD and HUST co-organised a workshop to exchange and discuss ideas in two important contents of QA for the applicability in Vietnamese universities: What are the state of play and the trends of QA policy in Vietnam? What are good practices of external and internal quality assurance in Europe, especially in Germany and how can we all learn from each other. We were pleased to be invited to this important event.
November 11, 2021
East-West Dialogue with Ukraine
Essen (online). As part of the DAAD East-West Dialogue co-organised by the University of Duisburg-Essen and Sumy State University, a delegation of around 20 Ukrainian university administrators and managers also paid a virtual visit to FH Münster University of Applied Sciences. In particular, we openly discussed challenges and opportunities in international and intercultural cooperation in science between Ukraine and Germany.
November 3, 2021
Final Workshop of SADC-QA
The Training on internal Quality Assurance in the SADC-region of the University of Potsdam has come to a close with the third and final workshop from 1st to 3rd November. The 26 participants, quality managers from Southern Africa, received extensive online training and carried out application projects in their universities. We were involved with contributions on evaluation, quality definitions and change management and supported some of the participants in their project implementation. We send our congratulations to all participants on their successful participation!
October 28, 2021
Eurasian Quality Assurance Forum
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan (online). How do we face new realities such as digitalisation, internationalisation and microcredentials in and with quality management? These were the main questions discussed at the Eurasian Quality Assurance Forum, organised for the fourth time by the Independent Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (IQAA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan. We were very pleased to be invited to contribute and discuss these important topics.
October 15, 2021
National Multiplication Trainings 21/22
Potsdam (Germany). We are pleased to be able to support Potsdam University and our African colleagues in the implementation of DIES National Multiplication Trainings again in this funding period (2021/2022). Within the framework of NMTs, DAAD DIES Alumni can receive funding for the implementation of trainings. This year we are involved in trainings in Rwanda and Gambia. At the train-the-trainer workshop in October, we started supporting the training teams in planning their programmes. More about NMTs can be found here: https://dies-nmt.org/
October 1, 2021
Follow-up project THEA Ukraine X
Münster (Germany). After our THEA project had ended in September, we are very happy to announce that our follow-up project THEA X will be funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a period of another 2 years. In this project, Ukrainian Managers of Internationalisation & Quality Assurance will be qualified to conduct Multiplication Trainings at their home universities. The call for application will be published in early 2022 at: https://fh.ms/thea/
September 28, 2021
International Online Conference THEA Ukraine
Ukraine (online). The "Training for Higher Education Administrators in Ukraine" (THEA Ukraine) project ended at the end of September 2021 with an international online conference on "Internationalisation in Higher Education" in cooperation with our partner institution Sumy State University. Higher Education Managers from Ukraine, Germany and other countries discussed with us recent trends in internationalisation and learned about the 32 internationalisation projects implemented at Ukrainian HEIs during the course of the project.
July 20, 2021
Outcome-based Education in Mauritius
Mauritius (online). The Université des Mascareignes (UdM) is one of the youngest and most progressive universities in Mauritius and puts a lot of effort into quality management and quality enhancement. For and with the internal Quality Assurance Centre of the UdM, we conducted a workshop on outcome-based education, in which about 50 teachers from all three faculties participated and engaged in interesting discussions.
March 5, 2021
Second cohort of THEA Ukraine started their work
Ukraine (online). The week was full of insights into Ukrainian Higher Education Institutions and their internationalisation strategies. Like everywhere, also in Ukraine, internationalisation activities have gained new momentum against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the course of the workshop, the 16 participants from universities all over Ukraine started to share ideas about their change projects, that will be implemented in their institutions to foster internationalisation.
December 11, 2020
International online conference at Silkway International University
Shymkent (Kazakhstan). "The quality of higher education is the key to intellectual development of country" was the motto of the international conference hosted by Silkway International University in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Petra Pistor contributed with a presentation of FH Münster's internal QA system to an interesting exchange about implementing quality assurance and enhancement in Higher Education Institutions and how to foster the development of a quality culture.
November 30, 2020
IQA-4-Africa - Workshop of the first cohort started
Western and Eastern Africa. The first cohort of the training "IQA-4-Africa - From Pan-African Policy to Practice" has come together for an online workshop under the umbrella of the HAQAA2 initiative. Petra Pistor and Annika Boentert facilitated the training together with a number of international colleagues. The 27 participants from Eastern and Western Africa dealt with several topics around quality assurance in Higher Education Institutions. For this, they have been provided with extensive online resources developed by Annika Boentert, Joachim Preusse and Petra Pistor.
November 16, 2020
Kick-off workshop of SADC-QA
Southern Africa. The Training on Internal Quality Assurance in Southern Africa 2020 - 2021 (SADC-QA) was kicked-off this week. Thirty participants of the Southern African Development Community discussed about the basics of Quality Assurance in Higher Education and its linkages to strategic planning. The training is coordinated by University of Potsdam. Petra Pistor of the Wandelwerk served as the lead trainer for the workshop. The whole course comprises 3 workshops and two online coaching phases.
October 30, 2020
First workshop at HERQA on the ASG-QA
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Under the umbrella of the Ethio-German Sustainable Training and Education Programme (STEPII) Petra Pistor serves as an expert in a work package focused on the structural development and capacity building of the Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA). In a first workshop, one of the topics was the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA).
October 1, 2020
Open source training material for African QA professionals
Africa. Petra Pistor, Annika Boentert and Joachim Preusse have just finished the development of online learning material for quality assurance professionals in Africa. The learning material comprises a series of six modules with screencasts and texts ranging from the policy frameworks for Higher Education quality assurance in Africa over evaluation and study programme development up to project and change management. The material will be used in the framework of the training "IQA-4-Africa - From Pan-African Policy to Practice" under the initiative HAQAA2 (Harmonisation, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Africa). After four cohorts of QA professionals in Africa have been trained, the online learning material will be available as an open educational resource in 2021.
September 22, 2020
Online workshop on curriculum development
Ogbomoso (Nigeria). The second workshop in the framework of the National Multiplication Training (NMT) Nigeria "Internal Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Curriculum Development" took place online. Together with the West African Anglophone Quality Assurance Network (WAAQAN) Petra Pistor facilitated sessions on curriculum development in Higher Education Institutions.
September 7, 2020
2nd Workshop in the framework of THEA Ukraine
Ukraine. After several online meetings for the project coaching, the second workshop of THEA Ukraine was focused on the exchange of good practice of international offices in Ukraine and Germany. Besides our partners from various German and Ukrainian International Offices, we also welcomed our colleagues from AQAS e.V., a German accreditation agency, who facilitated a workshop on the set-up and quality assurance of joint programmes. Last, but not least, we paid a virtual visit to our colleges of the German Academic Exchange service, who are responsible for cooperation projects in Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia.
May 25, 2020
THEA Ukraine Kick-off
Ukraine. The first cohort of THEA Ukraine, our training for Higher Education Administrators in Ukraine, finally started their training today. Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, the course (originally planned to begin in March 2020) has been shifted and transformed into an online format. Today, all participants met for the first time via the online conference tool "Zoom" for getting to know each other and for setting the stage by exchanging information about the Ukrainian and German Higher Education systems. Apart from that, project management was the focal topic of the first workshop. In order to prepare the interaction in the workshop, participants have been provided with a number of screencasts produced by Petra Pistor and Annika Boentert.
April 15, 2020
Screencasts for QA professionals in Sierra Leone
Freetown (Sierra Leone). Special circumstances call for special measures. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our workshop on curriculum development in the framework of the AQHEd-SL project in Sierra Leone. Together with her colleague Prof. Ronnie Frazer-Williams of Fourah Bay College in Freetown Petra Pistor set up the AQHEd-SL YouTube Channel in order to provide the training participants with a number of screencasts on study programme development.
February 4, 2020
First QUEST workshop in Münster
Münster (Germany). Our first QUEST (Quality Enhancement for Study and Teaching) workshop took place in the Wandelwerk in Münster. The discussions on QA in Higher Education with colleagues from the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark were very inspiring indeed. It turned out that our world cafés on focal topics like "how to close the quality loop", "how to include the external perspective" and the like turned out to be a good starting point for more extensive peer consultations on concrete questions or challenges. We hope to continue this format at one of our partners' institutions in the future.
January 29, 2020
2nd cohort of AQHEd-SL has started
Freetown (Sierra Leone). Members of the Wandelwerk have trained the first cohort of staff of Sierra Leonean Higher Education Institutions and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) in 2019. For the second cohort, which started their training in December, we will contribute only partially. The other half of the training will be facilitated by our local colleagues in Sierra Leone. End of January, Petra Pistor facilitated a workshop on evaluation together with her colleagues Jeremiah Harding and Emmanuel Thinka-Kamara.
November 26, 2019
Workshop with WAAQAN in Nigeria
Ede (Nigeria). Today the first workshop in the National Multiplication Training (NMT) on Internal Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Curriculum Development started at Redeemers' University. The workshop was facilitated by members of the West African Anglophone Quality Assurance Network (WAAQAN) and Petra Pistor of FH Münster. The training was funded by the German Ministry for Development Cooperation via the DAAD under the umbrella of National Multiplication Trainings (NMT) coordinated by University of Potsdam.
November 23, 2019
Wandelwerk at EQAF again
Berlin (Germany). Prof. Dr. Annika Boentert and Vanessa Müller facilitated a workshop on different ways to incorporate an external experts' perspective in internal quality management systems. This year's European Quality Assurance Forum took place in Berlin and was entitled "Supporting societal engagement in Higher Education". We are looking forward to visit next years's forum and hope to be chosen to contribute again.
October 1, 2019
New Project in the Wandelwerk
Münster (Germany). We are very pleased to announce that for the upcoming two years the Wandelwerk. Centre for Quality Development of FH Münster will be managing a training project for Ukrainian colleagues. The Training for Higher Education Administrators in Ukraine (THEA Ukraine) will qualify two cohorts of participants to foster the international orientation of their Higher Education Institutions. Let's get started! Read more.
August 26, 2019
EAIR Forum in Leiden
Leiden (The Netherlands). In the bounds of the 41st annual forum of the EAIR - the European Higher Education Society - Prof. Dr. Annika Boentert explored an approach to higher education quality management (QM) as the provision of learning opportunities for Higher Education Institutions and their members as opposed to a notion of QM as a means for control. The discussions in the forum's track Quality Management for Responsible Higher Education turned out to be good food for thought for the reflection on the current practice of QM in higher education
August 23, 2019
SHARE Training on Internal Quality Assurance
Bangkok (Thailand). FH Münster was invited to share experiences in the field of internal quality assurance during an IQA-training in the bounds of the EU-SHARE project in the ASEAN region. Petra Pistor of the Wandelwerk was honoured to be part of the international trainers team.
August 2, 2019
Chinese Delegation Visits FH Münster and the Wandelwerk
Münster (Germany). Together with their host, Prof. Dr. Hendrik Lackner, director of the Higher Education Centre China (HZC) of Universty of Osnabrück a delegation of 20 Chinese Professors visited FH Münster. Carsten Schröder, Vice President for Transfer, Cooperation and Innovation and Matthias Welp-Dasenbrock welcomed the Chinese colleagues in Münster and informed them about the institution and FH Münster's internal Quality Assurance System.
April 12, 2019
Training of Quality Managers in Sierra Leone comes to an end
Freetown (Sierra Leone). The fourth and final workshop in the bounds of the AQHEd-SL project marks the end of the training for Quality Managers in Sierra Leonean Universities. Prof. Dr. Richard Korff, Prof. Dr. Ronnie Frazer-Williams and Petra Pistor celebrated the successful final of the training with the participants in the second week of April.
March 8, 2019
Institutional Development Programme at Universidad de Talca completed
Talca (Chile). With a big final conference bringing together leadership and staff at UTALCA, the IDP with a focus on Quality Management came to an end in March. Prof. Dr. Frank Dellmann, Prof. Dr. Annika Boentert and Vanessa Müller moderated the reflection of the project results and facilitated the planning process for the next steps at UTALCA. Perhaps, a follow-up cooperation will come to life soon.
February 22, 2019
Curriculum Design and Revision in Sierra Leone
Freetown (Sierra Leone). The third workshop in the bounds of the project Assuring Quality Higher Education in Sierra Leone (AQHEd-SL) dealt with the principles of student-centered learning and curriculum development. Prof. Dr. Ronnie Frazer-Williams and Petra Pistor trained the participants in techniques for curriculum design and revision.
January 14, 2019
Second workshop on Quality Assurance in Sierra Leonean Universities
Freetown (Sierra Leone).From January 14th to 18th the second workshop in the bounds of the project Assuring Quality Higher Education in Sierra Leone (AQHEd-SL) took place in Freetown. The 12 participants and the trainers of MUAS' Wandelwerk, the centre for Quality Development, Lisa Betting and Petra Pistor, dealt with tools and procedures for quality assurance in higher education and the basics of evaluation research. During the week, participants acquired basic knowledge in the field of empiricial social research and practical skills for designing questionnaires and surveys as well as data collection, analysis and interpretation for the enhancement of quality.
December 10, 2018
Module 2 of IDP with Universidad de Talca completed
Münster (Germany). In first week of December QM-experts of the Universidasd de Talca (Chile) successfully participated in Module 2 of our Professional Development Programme on Quality Management at FH Münster to learn more about our structures and systems. Besides workshops and the further development of the participants` Personal Application Projects, one focus of the visit was also to meet with various QM-staff in person to ensure a first hand look into our processes.
November 17, 2018
Workshop on Process Management at European Quality Assurance Forum
Vienna (Austria). Vanessa Müller and Petra Pistor joined the European Quality Assurance family for the 13th EQAF (European Quality Assurance Forum) and facilitated a workshop on process management as a tool for fostering quality culture in Higher Education Institutions. The 2018 EQAF was dedicated to the topic "Broadening QA" and provided interesting discussions.
October 16, 2018
Assuring Quality Higher Education in Sierra Leone
Freetown (Sierra Leone). Petra Pistor facilitated the first workshop in the framework of the training on quality assurance in Higher Education in cooperation with Dr. Sherman Kamara (Njala University) and Dr. Ronnie Frazer-Williams (University of Sierra Leone). The training will include four workshops until April 2019 and addresses quality assurance managers from three Sierra Leonean Universities and the Tertiary Education Commission of Sierra Leone. The training takes place under the umbrella of the initiative Assuring Quality Higher Education in Sierra Leone (AQHEd-SL), where MUAS partners with University of Sierra Leone and King's College London. October 8, 2018
October 8, 2018
IDP on Quality Management at Universidad de Talca started
Talca (Chile). Prof. Dr. Annika Boentert, Prof. Dr. Frank Dellmann and Vanessa Müller kicked off the first module of our Institutional Development Programme on Quality Management in Talca. The trainings will focus on supporting the university to consolidate the central quality management team, improve coordination between stakeholders and intensify "quality culture" on both administrative and academic level.
October 6, 2017
IDP with Universidad de La Frontera successfully completed
Temuco (Chile). After seven month, three modules and two online coaching phases the Institutional Development Programme on Quality Management is now completed. Prof. Dr. Richard Korff and Matthias Welp conducted the final workshop at the Universidad de La Frontera to sum up the results and evaluate the developed projects.
August 22, 2017
Ethiopian university leaders visit FH Münster
Münster (Germany). Leading managing staff of Ethiopian universities visited FH Münster to learn about our Transfer and Quality Management Systems. The workshop was combined with a site visit to one of our engineering labs.
June 26, 2017
Module 2 of Institutional Development Programme with Universidad de La Frontera completed Münster
Münster (Germany). Last week participants of our Institutional Development Programme on Quality Management visited FH Münster to learn more about our structures and systems. Besides workshops and the further development of the participants` Personal Application Projects there was also enough time to get in touch with our staff and get an inside look into our processes.
March 6, 2017
Kick-off Workshop at Universidad de la Frontera
Temuco (Chile). Today, our trainers Prof. Dr. Richard Korff and Matthias Welp started the Institutional Development Programme on Quality Management at the Universidad de La Frontera in Temuco. This first module will mainly focus on a needs analysis and a first glimps into MUAS` systems and processes.