XIII Annual International Bologna Conference “European Integration of Ukraine’s Higher Education in the context of Bologna Process: Higher Education Digitalisation and Quality Assurance for Providing Equal Access to Quality Higher Education” (07.11.2024, hybrid format)
On 7 November 2024, the XIII Annual International Scientific and Practical Conference “European Integration of Ukraine’s Higher Education in the context of the Bologna Process. Digitalisation and Quality Assurance for Providing Equal Access to Quality Higher Education” took place. The event was organised by the National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the Institute of Higher Education of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, the Union of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine, and the EU Erasmus+ Programme National Higher Education Reform Experts Team (HERE team). The conference was supported by the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
The 2024 Bologna Conference aimed to assess the state and prospects of higher education development in Ukraine during martial law and the full-scale war, in the context of digital transformations and quality assurance. The event highlighted the processes of harmonising Ukrainian higher education legislation with European integration requirements, pathways for modernising external and internal quality assurance systems for digital educational programmes in Ukraine aligned with European Higher Education Area (EHEA) trends, and specific aspects of ensuring quality digital higher education during crises and emergencies (e.g., the pandemic and large-scale war) to guarantee equal access to quality higher education. Relevant recommendations were developed during the conference.
The event gathered about 200 registered online participants, including representatives of higher education institutions and professional pre-higher education institutions from all regions of Ukraine, research institutions of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, the National Qualifications Agency, members of the EU Erasmus+ Programme National Higher Education Reform Experts Team (HERE), and representatives of Erasmus+ projects. Approximately 50 speakers and participants attended the conference in person in the conference hall of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
The opening speeches were delivered by Volodymyr BUGROV, Rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine; Adrien OLSZAK-OLSZEWSKI, Policy Development Manager at the International Cooperation Unit of the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission (DG EAC); Vasyl KREMEN, President of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine; Andriy BUTENKO, Head of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance; and Svitlana SHYTIKOVA, Coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine.
The Bologna Conference featured keynote speaker Esther HUERTAS, a recognised European expert from the Quality Assurance Agency in Catalunya (Spain). She leads working groups on the development of digitalisation in higher education and quality assurance within the EHEA.
On 7 November, speakers of the Bologna Conference included the National Higher Education Reform Experts of the EU Erasmus+ Programme: Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine; Oleh SHAROV, Director General of the Directorate of Vocational Pre-Higher and Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; Olena KOZIEVSKA, Head of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation; Iryna ZOLOTAROVA, Member of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance and Professor at Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics; Volodymyr BAKHRUSHYN, Head of the HERE Team, Professor at Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, and Coordinator of the Higher Education Sector of the Scientific and Methodological Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; Yuriy RASHKEVYCH, Member of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, Professor at Lviv Polytechnic National University, and Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine (2018–2019); and Mariia MYSHLOVSKA, a Master’s student at the Ukrainian Catholic University. Additionally, presentations on the pressing challenges of external and internal quality assurance of higher education during crises and emergencies were delivered by Andriy BUTENKO, Head of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, and Andrii GOZHYK, Vice-Rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
The cluster event on quality assurance in higher education in the field of healthcare took place as part of Session 4, “Digital Higher Education in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges,” of the Bologna Conference. The event was attended by 92 online participants and 8 offline participants. Representatives of five international EU Erasmus+ CBHE projects (SimS, SAFEMED, UKROTHE, REHAB, TAME), implemented since 2015 and continuing to this day, showcased the achievements of the higher education institutions involved both during the projects and after their completion. Partner institutions of these projects include Zaporizhzhia State Medical University, Bukovinian State Medical University, I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University, Kharkiv National Medical University, Odesa National Medical University, National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine, Lviv State University of Physical Culture, Prydniprovska State Academy of Physical Culture and Sports, Sumy State University, Khmelnytskyi National University, Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University, National Academy of Internal Affairs, and Dnipropetrovsk State University of Internal Affairs. Other partners include state institutions such as the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance and the Testing Centre under the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, as well as public organisations like the Modrychi Rehabilitation Centre and the Caritas Sambir-Drohobych Diocese Charitable Foundation of the UGCC.
On 8 November, an online meeting of education professionals and National Higher Education Reform Experts of the EU Erasmus+ Programme was held to address issues related to ensuring equal access to quality higher education through digital transformations and the modernisation of quality assurance systems. The meeting summarised the conference results and prepared recommendations for follow-up actions. The event was attended by 13 participants, including members of the National Team of Higher Education Reform Experts of the EU Erasmus+ Programme (Volodymyr BAKHRUSHYN, Svitlana KALASHNIKOVA, Olena KOZIEVSKA, Volodymyr LUGOVYY, Maryna MRUGA, Mariia MYSHLOVSKA, Yuriy RASHKEVYCH, Iryna SIKORSKA, Oleh SHAROV); representatives of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Daria SHCHEGLYUK, Head of the Education Quality Assurance Department); representatives of the National Erasmus+ Office – Ukraine (Svitlana SHYTIKOVA, Zhanna TALANOVA); and European expert Esther HUERTAS from the Quality Assurance Agency in Catalunya, Spain. The discussion focused particularly on the development, recognition, and quality assurance of micro-credentials in higher education and the modernisation of quality assurance under the conditions of digital teaching and learning to support the development of relevant policies and legislation. Recommendations for the Bologna Conference 2024 are being prepared based on the outcomes of this discussion.
RESOURCES (Esther HUERTAS (AQU Catalunya)
PRESENTATIONS OF THE BOLOGNA CONFERENCE
- Вища освіта України в умовах воєнного стану та широкомасштабної війни, післявоєнного відновлення: виклики та перспективи – Mychailo WYNNYCKYJ, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, HERE and Oleh SHAROV, Director General of the Directorate of Vocational Pre-Higher and Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
- Digitalisation impact on QA development and inclusion in EHEA: trends and prospects – Esther HUERTAS, the Quality Assurance Agency in Catalunya – Spain, EU expert
- Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) – adaptations needed in quality assurance of Digital Education – Esther HUERTAS, the Quality Assurance Agency in Catalunya – Spain, EU expert
- Модернізація зовнішнього забезпечення якості в Україні в умовах криз і надзвичайних ситуацій (пандемія, широкомасштабна війна) – Andriy BUTENKO, Head of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance
- Навчання і викладання в умовах криз і надзвичайних ситуацій – Iryna ZOLOTAROVA, Member of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance and Professor at Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, HERE
- Заходи ЗВО із внутрішнього забезпечення якості в Україні в умовах криз і надзвичайних ситуацій – Andrii GOZHYK, Vice-Rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
- Залучення студентів до процесу оцінювання якості вищої освіти та університетських сервісів через цифрові інструменти – Mariia MYSHLOVSKA, a Master’s student at the Ukrainian Catholic University, HERE
- Забезпечення рівного доступу до якісної вищої освіти в Україні: законодавчий аспект – Olena KOZIEVSKA, Head of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science, and Innovation, HERE
- Забезпечення рівного доступу до якісної вищої освіти в Україні: законодавство у контексті євроінтеграції – Volodymyr BAKHRUSHYN, Head of the HERE Team, Professor at Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, and Coordinator of the Higher Education Sector of the Scientific and Methodological Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, HERE
- Розроблення мікрокваліфікацій у вищій освіті: якість та цифровізація – Yuriy RASHKEVYCH, Member of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance, Professor at Lviv Polytechnic National University, and Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine (2018–2019), HERE
- Monitoring and Evaluation of Online Study Programmes in Higher Education – Esther HUERTAS, the Quality Assurance Agency in Catalunya – Spain, EU expert
PRESENTATIONS OF THE CLUSTER EVENT
- SimS – Simulation Medicine and Scenario–based learning for Emergency Care (2022-2025) – Олена КОРОТУТ, доцент кафедри педіатрії та дитячих інфекційних хвороб, фахівець грантового відділу, Буковинський державний медичний університет
- SAFEMED – Simulation in Undergraduate MEDical Education for Improvement of SAFEty and Quality of Patient Care (2020-2023) – Тетяна БІЛОУС, професор кафедри педіатрії та дитячих інфекційних хвороб, координатор грантового відділу, Буковинський державний медичний університет
- UKROTHE – Developing an Occupational Therapy study programme in Ukraine (2019-2022) – Олег БАЗИЛЬЧУК, завідувач кафедрою фізичної терапії, ерготерапії, Хмельницький національний університет
- REHAB – Innovative Rehabilitation Education – Introduction of new Master’s degree programmes in Ukraine (2018-2021) – Олена БІСМАК, професор кафедри терапії та реабілітації, Національний університет фізичного виховання і спорту України
- TAME – Training Against Medical Error (2015-2018) – Сергій САЖИН, начальник навчального відділу з СМЯО та ІАЗ, доцент кафедри педіатрії та дитячих інфекційних хвороб, Буковинський державний медичний університет