Deputy Director at the Department for Quality Assurance and Research, and Montenegrin representative in the Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG) – Milica Kavedžić participated at the Ministerial Conference held in Tirana, Republic of Albania in the period from May 29-30, 2024,
The Ministerial Conference is traditionally organised by the Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG). This year’s host was the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Republic of Albania, where the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) delegations and their consultative partners (47 of them), led by the ministers responsible for the field of education, gathered to review the achievements in the implementation of the Bologna reforms, as well as to discuss the most important topics and challenges faced by higher education systems.
During the official visit to Tirana, the Montenegrin delegation was led by the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Prof. PhD Anđela Jakšić-Stojanović. In addition to the Deputy Director of ACQAHE, the delegation included Dragana Ćetković, Acting Director General of the Directorate for Higher Education and Student Standards, Prof. PhD Vladimir Božović, Rector of the University of Montenegro, and Andrej Vukčević, President of the Student Parliament, University of Montenegro.
This event brought in one place, officials, decision-makers, consultative partners, university rectors, students and other relevant participants in the higher education system.
The Conference was opened by the welcoming speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, and the Minister of Education and Sports of the Republic of Albania, Ogerta Manastirlia.
At the Ministerial Conference, the Tirana Communique was adopted – the document that represents the future common action framework in the EHEA area, to implement six fundamental values of the higher education system, which include: academic freedom, academic integrity, autonomy of higher education institutions, student participation in management structures of HEIs and agencies for quality assurance, as well as the public responsibility of both, institutions and decision-makers in the higher education system.
Quality assurance in accordance with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG), academic integrity, involvement of students in management structures, lifelong learning, achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adequate application of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as student mobility (at least 20%), represent some of the most important guidelines for the future development of higher education until 2030, which are defined by this document.
The Bologna Follow-up Group proposed the text of the Tirana Communique. It was designed to reflect the proposals and results of this Group’s activities, in the period between the two Ministerial Conferences. Over the past four years, the Secretariat of the Bologna Process Monitoring Group was chaired by the Republic of Albania, who is the host of this year’s Conference.
The Conference was focused on several key areas and topics related to the challenges of implementing the key obligations of the Bologna Process, the European perspective of internationalisation and mobility, the role of higher education in fulfilling digital and green imperatives, the preservation of basic academic values, as well as the social dimension of higher education.
The Bologna Process Implementation Report, which presents data on the progress of Montenegro as well, states that progress is evident, but additional efforts are needed to reach the EHEA 2030 goals.
The Conference in Tirana marked a new milestone in the joint efforts of the members of the European Higher Education Area to commit to creating an inclusive, innovative and interconnected area of higher education across Europe.
During the Ministerial Conference in Tirana, Deputy Director Milica Kavedžić had the opportunity to meet with Mr Douglas Blackstock, the President of the General Assembly of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), as well as with the Director of the aforementioned association – Ms Anna Gover, and informed them about the current challenges ACQAHE is facing with. In addition to the official representatives of ENQA, the Deputy Director spoke with representatives of quality assurance agencies from Serbia and Romania, as well as with representatives of the Austrian delegation.
Also, during the Ministerial Conference in Tirana, the Montenegrin delegation led by the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Prof. PhD Anđela Jakšić-Stojanović, held a series of bilateral meetings with the delegations led by the relevant ministers of Hungary, Luxembourg, and Turkey.