News

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 1^st to 3^rd 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!

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.

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/

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/

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

2^nd 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.