International Conference "Social Inclusion in Higher Education and Microcredentials," co-organized with MES, ARACIS, and BCRM

Image: MES

On September 18-19, 2024, the international conference "Social Inclusion in Higher Education and Microcredentials" took place. The conference was co-organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria (MES), the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency of Bulgaria (NEAA), the Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education of Romania (ARACIS), and the Bulgarian Council for Refugees and Migrants (BCRM). The event was held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The first day of the conference focused on the results achieved so far from the Social Inclusion, Tolerance, Acceptance and Realization for all Students (START) project, as well as the broader topic of social inclusion of vulnerable groups in higher education.

Image: NEAA

The conference was officially opened by Prof. Galin Tsokov, Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria, and Dr. Ivana Radonova, Head of the "Higher Education Policy" Department, Higher Education Directorate of MES. This was followed by a presentation by Dr. Francesc Pedró, Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO IESALC), titled "Keeping Tertiary Education Functioning and Improving in Conflict-Affected Areas: Resilience and Development."

Image: NEAA

Next was a presentation titled "The Social Dimension of Higher Education: An Exploratory Study for the Validation of Quality Assurance Indicators." The presentation was prepared by Romanian researchers participating in the START project and was delivered by Prof. Adrian Opre, of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

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Subsequently, the first panel discussion of the conference took place, titled "Higher Education Area Perspectives," and was moderated by Cristina Ghitulica, General Director of ARACIS and Vice-President of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). The panelists were Tamara Ciobanu, Executive Committee Member of the European Students’ Union, Assoc. Prof. Anna Ivanova, Vice-Rector of “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” Veliko Tarnovo University, and Stanimir Boyadzhiev, representative of the National Assembly of Student Councils.

The conference continued with the presentation of research results from the Bulgarian team of the START project. Prof. Petya Kabakchieva, lecturer at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and former President of NEAA, and Prof. Siyka Chavdarova-Kostova, lecturer at Sofia University and former Chairperson of NEAA’s Standing Committee on Educational Sciences and Social Activities, presented results from focus group discussions with migrants, students with disabilities, and university professors, as well as from a survey conducted among Bulgarian universities. Later in the day, Prof. Chavdarova-Kostova presented a draft of quality assurance indicators related to the social inclusion of vulnerable groups in the educational process.

Image: NEAA

Image: MES

Two more panel discussions on the topic of social inclusion were held. The first, moderated by Vladimir Milev, Chair of the Bulgarian Council of Refugees and Migrants, focused on the perspectives of students, teachers, and professionals. Participants in the discussion included Angel Stoykov, President of the National Assembly of Student Councils, Iva Boneva, Executive Director of the Association for Shared Learning "ELA," and Faege Eshkevari, refugee leader from Iran.

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The final panel discussion of the day was titled "Good Practices in Social Dimension Inclusion," moderated by Dyani Kurulenko, Junior Expert in "International Cooperation" at NEAA. The discussion featured Prof. Hristo Bozov, Rector of "Asen Zlatarov" University of Burgas, Dr. Ivan Yanev, teacher at the National Sports Academy who works with students with disabilities, and Tornike Bakakuri, Head of the International Relations Department at Alte University, Georgia, and former coordinator of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQA).

On the second day of the conference, the main topic was recent developments in European policies for improving the quality of higher education, including microcredentials and the European Approach for the Accreditation of Joint Programs.

Image: NEAA

The day began with presentations by Elena Cirlan, Senior Project and Policy Coordinator at ENQA, and Aleksandra Zhivkovikj, representative of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), who introduced the concept of microcredentials in higher education.

This was followed by a discussion on "Opportunities and Obstacles to the Development of Microcredentials," moderated by Ivana Radonova. Participants in the discussion were Daniela Trani, Director of the European University "Young Universities for the Future of Europe," Prof. Miglena Temelkova, Chair of the Rectors' Conference of Bulgaria, Rossitsa Steliyanova, representative of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, and Vanya Grashkina, representative of the National Center for Information and Documentation.

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The conference continued with a presentation on the concepts of European Degree and European Degree Label, delivered by Vanessa Debiais-Sainton, Head of Unit B1 Higher Education, European Commission.

The final panel discussion of the conference was titled "European Approach, European Degree, and Transnational Education." Participants in the discussion were Aleksandar Šušnjar, Director of EQAR, Patrick Van den Bosch, Head of the Flemish Higher Education Council – Quality Assurance (VLUHR QA), Eduardo Ramos, Director of International and Professional Services at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education of the UK (QAA), and Dr. Dagmar Provijn, Policy Advisor, Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Eliza Stefanova, President of NEAA.

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The conference was attended by over 100 guests, including representatives of universities and research organizations in Bulgaria, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations related to higher education, as well as representatives of international universities and accreditation agencies.

You can find the presentations from the conference at the following link: https://cloud.neaa.government.bg/index.php/s/fZ7YPpfSWLAG2bf

On behalf of the entire START project team, we would like to thank all the participants in the conference, as well as all the guests!