Future Directions and Planning of Regional QA Cooperation Meeting, online, 17 December 2025
The regional online meeting “Future Directions and Planning of Regional QA Cooperation” was held on 17 December 2025, organised by the ERI SEE Secretariat. The meeting brought together representatives of institutions responsible for quality assurance in pre-tertiary education from South Eastern Europe and Moldova, together with representatives of European Training Foundation (ETF) and Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI).
The meeting was opened by Ms Sandra Brkanović, Director of ERI SEE, who welcomed participants and outlined the purpose of the meeting, emphasizing the need to reflect on current developments in quality assurance and to identify realistic directions for future regional cooperation.
Within the thematic part of the agenda, particular attention was given to the contributions of representatives of the European Training Foundation (ETF) and the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI).
Mr Mounir Baati, Senior Human Capital Development Expert for VET Quality Assurance at the European Training Foundation (ETF), presented key contemporary developments and challenges in quality assurance for vocational education and training. His presentation provided an overview of recent policy directions at European level, including external evaluation, system coherence, and the role of quality assurance in supporting relevance and responsiveness of VET systems.
Ms Janie McManus, President of the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI), spoke about current developments in quality assurance for general education, noting increasing system complexity and changing expectations. She stressed the importance of linking external evaluation with self-evaluation and professional learning, and highlighted challenges related to the growing volume of indicators and data. She concluded that effective evaluation requires a balance between accountability and learning, based on professional judgement and trust.
The perspectives provided by ETF and SICI served as a basis for the subsequent discussion, enabling participants to reflect on how European trends and practices may influence national quality assurance systems and regional cooperation initiatives.
Further contributions were provided by ERI SEE representatives, who presented an overview of ERI SEE’s support provided to date. Within this context, Ms Ivana Živadinović, Project Coordinator, outlined ERI SEE support to the modernisation of VET, while Ms Marina Papović, Project Coordinator, presented ERI SEE support related to the quality assurance component. The session concluded with proposals for potential future cooperation, presented by Ms Sandra Brkanović, Director of ERI SEE, which outlined possible areas for future project planning, including continued regional dialogue, targeted support to quality assurance systems, and the development of joint activities aligned with emerging policy priorities.
The second part of the meeting was dedicated to a moderated discussion titled “Future of QA Developments in the SEE Region and Moldova”, during which participants exchanged views on key QA requirements, areas of external evaluation where regional cooperation could bring added value, and types of regional support that could be most useful in the coming period, with particular emphasis on the need to further strengthen internal self-evaluation practices within education systems.
The meeting concluded with a summary of key points and closing remarks, confirming the importance of continued dialogue and exchange of experiences among national QA institutions, ERI SEE, and European partners.
Presentations:
- Contemporary Developments and Challenges in Quality Assurance for VET
Mounir Baati, Senior Human Capital Development Expert – VET Quality Assurance, European Training Foundation (ETF) – download - Contemporary Developments and Challenges in Quality Assurance for General Education
Janie McManus, President, Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI) – download - ERI SEE Support to the Modernisation of VET
Ivana Živadinović, Project Coordinator, ERI SEE – download - ERI SEE Support to the Quality Assurance Component
Marina Papović, Project Coordinator, ERI SEE – download
