A two-day workshop was held in Banja Luka within the SMEQA project: “Strengthening capacities for external quality assurance in higher education”

As part of the Erasmus+ project SMEQA - Strengthening capacities and mechanisms for improving the quality assurance system in higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a two-day workshop was held at the University of Banja Luka on March 24 and 25, 2025.

The SMEQA project aims to strengthen capacities and mechanisms for improving the quality assurance system in higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the development of modernized accreditation models, aligned with ESG standards, strengthening institutional cooperation and preparing the system for full membership of BiH in ENQA and EQAR. Workshop titled "Support to external quality assurance: Strengthening the capacity of quality assurance systems in higher education" It brought together representatives of higher education institutions, competent education authorities, CIP BiH, HEA BiH, and partners from Croatia and Slovenia. In the introductory part, representatives of the University of Zenica, as project coordinators, addressed the attendees, emphasizing the importance of harmonizing domestic practices with European standards.

During the two working days, topics such as: the role of quality assurance agencies in national education systems, institutional support to higher education institutions, education of experts and evaluators, inclusion of students in QA processes, and dialogue with educational authorities and decision-makers were addressed. A special contribution to the implementation of the workshop was made by representatives of international partners, the Agency for Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Croatia (AZVO) and the National Agency for Quality in Higher Education of the Republic of Slovenia (NAKVIS), who shared their countries' experiences in the development of external quality assurance, education of experts, support to higher education institutions, and inclusion of students in QA processes through interactive sessions, after which representatives of HEA BiH presented the practice of BiH.

The Agency for the Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HEA BiH), as an institution responsible for defining criteria for accreditation, maintaining a register and issuing recommendations to the competent education authorities, plays a key role in connecting stakeholders from different administrative units and guiding reform processes towards European standards, and through its work on this project, it confirms its commitment to improving the external quality assurance system through partnership, open dialogue and expert input based on European standards and practices.

 On the second day of the workshop, a meeting of project partners was held, where financial and administrative aspects of the project were discussed, reporting prepared, and an action plan for the next 12 months of implementation was defined.

Photos and additional materials from the workshop will soon be available at: www.smeqa.ba