Closed international projects (2004-2015)
The Certificate for Quality in Internationalisation (co-funded by the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme). A project coordinated by the NVAO to lay the foundations for a series of procedures leading to certification of the internationalisation of European universities.
AQU Catalunya coordinated the review process of the Pompeu Fabra University’s Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences, the outcome of which was positive and, as a result, the institution was awarded the certificate. It is worth noting that the certificate signifies the recognition of excellence.
Participating university: Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), as a recipient of the service.
Erasmus Mundus ERANET-MUNDUS/ERANET-PLUS. Projects coordinated by the University of Barcelona (UB) to encourage mobility and links between universities in Russia and the European Union.
AQU Catalunya is an associated member of the consortium in charge of developing the project, which is coordinated by the University of Barcelona. The working goal of the project is the development of quality assurance systems that cover academic mobility.
Participating university: University of Barcelona (UB), as coordinator of the project.
Joint programmes: Quality Assurance and Recognition of degrees awarded. A European project by the ECA aimed at promoting multilateral recognition between QA agencies and integration of the evaluation of joint programmes by QA agencies with international recognition by ENIC-NARIC bodies.
Study Abroad. This programme, and in particular the fifteen-week pre-established study programme, has been designed for people who wish to study Spanish in Barcelona along with a series of other subjects in different fields (economics, politics, architecture and the humanities) in English. On completion of the programme, students receive a certificate from the UAB with the number of credits equivalent to the courses taken, which can then be validated by their own university
AQU Catalunya was requested to coordinate an external review of the Study Abroad Programme for the purposes of external recognition and quality assurance. As an independent body whose primary role is quality assurance and the promotion of higher education in Catalonia, the position of AQU Catalunya is to ensure compliance with international standards of quality assurance in higher education.
PDF Guide to the external quality assurance of the study abroad programme
PDF AQU External Quality Assurance Report. UAB. Study Abroad Programme
AQU Catalunya was involved in the design and implementation of the external review of the Autonomous University of Barcelona's International Relations Service.
Taking into account the general European frame of reference, the Agency defined the following points for this project:
- To provide an international benchmarking and promote the comparability of the UAB's international relations with other European universities.
- To appoint an international review panel to include both academic perspectives and those of students.
- To use an international review methodology to assess the performance of a Catalan university.
- To produce conclusions and elements of methodology for implementation in other Catalan universities in the future.
The emphasis of the external review was on the review of the policy and strategy for international relations and its dissemination to the entire university; the defined objectives and their monitoring through the use of indicators; human and physical resources allocated to activities connected with internationalisation; and activities to promote internationalisation.
Impact Analysis of External Quality Assurance Processes in Higher Education Institutions. Pluralistic Methodology and Application of a Formative Transdisciplinary Impact Evaluation.
AQU Catalunya participates as a consortium partner in this project, the aim of which is to analyse the impact of external quality assurance on higher education institutions. To apply the methodology, each IMPALA partner agency carries out an external quality assurance procedure with a higher education institution partner, with different approaches to both institutional and programme external review being used in four countries (Germany, Finland, Romania and Spain/Catalonia).
Participating university: Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), as a project partner.
Quality procedures in European higher education: Internationalisation of QA. AQU Catalunya coordinates the fourth QPP survey, which focuses on the internationalisation of QA processes in the EHEA. The purpose of this survey, which includes all of the member agencies of ENQA, is to identify the degree to which QA agencies are “internationalised”, in terms of the procedures carried out within their natural geographical frame of reference and those developed in other geographical areas. The survey includes aspects that refer to the opinions of agencies concerning the possible development of a European quality assurance market, the risks associated with internationalisation, and the resources invested by agencies to raise their level of internationalisation.
The group managing the project consists of AQU Catalunya and the QA agencies from Austria (AQ), France (CTI), Lithuania (SKVC) and the UK (QAA).
AQU Catalunya already participated in the second survey (2007) and coordinated the third survey of the programme (2012).
AQU Catalunya forms part of the KP3 group, which analyses how quality assurance agencies in higher education are organised and aligned with part 3 of the European standards and guidelines. The work of this group will also be used to design a new international review model for agencies that are full members of ENQA.
In order to explore the possibility of combining programme review with the award of other forms of recognition, AQU Catalunya has entered into an agreement with ASIIN, the German QA agency.
Under this agreement, an experimental joint external review procedure between the two agencies has been implemented in Catalonia.
AQU Catalunya coordinates an ENQA working group consisting of representatives from twenty European QA agencies, the main focus of which is to reflect on the impact of quality assurance in higher education, in particular on the quality of the educational process, national policies, institutional management and the prevention of risks.
The group has worked on identifying the objectives and missions of QA agencies and the ways in which an appropriate set of objectives can facilitate impact measurement. It has also defined the potential areas of impact of external QA processes. The working group also recognises the complexity of measuring the impact of these processes, given the diversity of contexts and the concurrence of other policies and strategies influencing the enhancement of quality in higher education.
It is anticipated that the group will complete its work this year with the publication of a document on the state of the issue and the formulation of different recommendations concerning the matter.
Twenty QA agencies from twelve different countries are participating in the working group.
FLLLEX. The Impact of Life Long Learning Strategies on Professional Higher Education. An ENQA project that addresses the challenges and implications of incorporating Lifelong Learning into European higher education institutions. AQU Catalunya provided leadership for the preparation of the self-evaluation methodology for these policies and strategies in universities.
FLLLEX-Radar. A self-assessment instrument for Lifelong Learning in Professional Higher Education
European Training of QA Experts. An ECA project to train experts in quality assurance through the sharing of experience (trained, knowledgeable, and internationally experienced experts).
Development of Public Accreditation of Agricultural programs in Russia, coordinated by the University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia).
The main objective of this TEMPUS project is to set up a review agency specialising in quality assurance for programmes offered by higher education agricultural faculties and colleges in the Russian Federation.
One interesting aspect of this project is the highly active participation of the professional and business sector, which is willing to be formally involved in the running of such an agency. The project is being promoted by the universities and professional sectors, with support from the federal government as a result of the strategic nature of the agricultural sector in Russia.
The specific objectives are:
- The development of standards and procedures that are consistent with ENQA’s ESG for the accreditation of agricultural study programmes (Aps) run at public institutions.
- Setting up of the Agency for the Accreditation of Publicly-Run Agricultural Study Programmes.
- Recognition of this agency in Russia and at international level.
AQU Catalunya participates as a partner and expert in the management of external quality assurance processes.
Participating university: University of Lleída, as a partner in the project.
EQTeL (Enhancing Quality of Technology-Enhanced Learning at Jordanian Universities) is a project that comes under the European Union's TEMPUS 2013 programme, the aim of which is to reform and promote the modernisation of higher education in countries associated with the European Union.
The aim of the project is to develop key performance indicators for technology enhanced learning models (TeL) in Jordan that are applicable at international level and, in accordance with the Bologna Process, in the European Union.
The project is coordinated by the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT), Jordan.
AQU Catalunya and ENQA participate in the project as partners and are responsible for designing and running staff trainings for the development of quality assurance systems in universities in Jordan. The Open University of Catalonia (UOC) also participates in the project.
EQTEL Newsletter Issue 1. Summer 2016
Joint capacity building project in Southeast Asia. An ENQA programme with the objective of the quality assurance and enhancement of study programmes and to facilitate the recognition of credits and Bachelor-level programmes based on QA principles and standards, through the sharing and exchange of experience.
AQU Catalunya participates in the project as a representative of ENQA and cooperates with experts from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD/German Academic Exchange Service) and the Conference of Rectors in Germany in the process of staff training for agencies in ASEAN countries. It has also participated in two programme review processes at universities in the region.
The development of a semi-distance learning programme for the heads of quality units at universities in the ASEAN region has been endorsed by the group managing the project, which is to be coordinated by the University of Potsdam and DAAD, with AQU Catalunya taking part as an ENQA representative.
As a result of experience gained in this region, ENQA, together with other partners, has formed a consortium that has been selected for funding through the EU-SHARE programme. AQU Catalunya is to represent ENQA in this project, the objective of which is to share the European experience of setting up the EHEA in the ASEAN region, which likewise seeks to establish a common area for higher education.
Instruments of Support of Labour Market and Higher Education. Coordinated by the Italian consortium AlmaLaurea, the aim of the ISLAH project is to establish two national observatories, one in Morocco and one in Tunisia, with the curricula vitae of the graduate population, the aim being to facilitate the exchange and match of information between the higher education system and the requirements of the labour market.
AQU Catalunya is a member of the consortium in charge of developing the ISLAH project, in which information is shared on good practices and experiences with the setting and use of indicators on graduate employment outcomes.
Enhancement of Quality Assurance Management in Jordanian Universities. Project coordinated by the University of Barcelona, the purpose of which is to promote quality assurance management in Jordanian Universities. One of the impacts of the project is in the enhancement of academic cooperation between Europe and Jordan.
AQU Catalunya participates as a partner and shares good practices in quality assurance.
Development of Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Moldova. The goal of the project is making QA at Moldovan HEI functional and conducive to HEI strategy development.
Joint capacity building project in Southeast Asia. An ENQA programme, the primary aim of which is to assure and enhance the quality of study programmes and to facilitate the recognition of credits and degrees based on shared quality assurance principles and standards, as a platform for exchange.
Joint innovation and synergies in education and research. A project aimed at promoting the objectives of Erasmus Mundus within the context of the countries in the Mediterranean region and contributing to the development of a Euro-Mediterranean area of higher education and research.
AQU Catalunya works in developing matters of quality assurance.
TEMPUS in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A European Community programme designed to provide support to non-member countries for the development of higher education. The programme is based on the recognition of higher education institutions as key elements in social and economic transition and cultural development.
Quality procedures in European higher education: Visions for the future. A third survey by ENQA on quality procedures in European higher education focusing on good practice in external quality assurance. The aim of the survey, which is coordinated by AQU Catalunya, is to identify user-orientation (good practices and expected benefits) in external review processes and explore priorities in this area at the European level.
AQU Catalunya previously took part in the second survey in 2007.
Transnational European Evaluation Project II. A pilot project by ENQA on a European-wide transnational quality evaluation scheme to develop a common methodology for the external review of joint inter-university Master's programmes.
Transnational European Evaluation Project I. A pilot project conducted by ENQA and its member agencies between June 2002 and October 2003. It explored the operational implications of a European transnational quality evaluation of study programmes in three subject areas: History, Physics and Veterinary Science.
The objective of the MIRROR project was to analyse the situation of doctoral programmes from the students' perspective and was carried out jointly in Catalonia, Sweden, Finland and Ireland in 2004. 16.000 students participated in this project, of which 1.001 belonged to the Catalan universities system.
Based on the development done by the Swedish agency Högskoleverket (National Agency for Higher Education) in 1998 —a questionnaire was given to 9,816 Swedish postgraduate students, the total population, with a response rate of 72%—, the project analyses issues like the introduction to doctoral studies, professional career development, dialogue with supervisors, reflections and values, amongst others.
MIRROR project was carried out during May and June 2004. The Catalan universities participating in the project were: Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universitat de Girona, Universitat de Lleida, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Universitat Ramon Llull, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Universitat de Vic and the International University of Catalonia.