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The 12th Annual Forum of The East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network, 05Th To 08Th September 2023, Bujumbura, Burundi

• 13th September, 2023 12:58pm
• 6 minutes read

Theme: Nurturing Emerging Trends in Higher Education Through Quality Assurance

The Islamic University in Uganda was represented by the Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs- Dr. Jamil Serwanga and the Director of Quality Assurance - Dr. Amaal Kinene N. Nsereko who attended the 12^th Annual Forum of the East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) which was held from the 5^th - 8^th September 2023, in Bujumbura Burundi.

Forum Preamble
In the Post-2015 Education Agenda (2015), UNESCO has emphasized that the main responsibility of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) is to teach the right things in the right ways in order to produce responsible citizenship. This cannot be achieved or reached if Quality Assurance (QA) systems are not in place and well managed.

However, the effects of globalisation have increasingly affected the input, processes, and outputs in the Higher Education sector. This is because changing labour market needs are shifting online, higher education institutions have to keep pace with the changing environment in which they function. This calls for the innovation of internal and external quality assurance systems (IQAS) and practices in order to remain relevant and useful for a rapidly changing and expanding higher education sector. The support is across all levels including, institutions of higher learning, regulators, and policy levels.

In order to maintain quality education, there is a need for experts in emerging trends in teaching and learning to share their experiences from various contexts with stakeholders in higher education institutions in the region and beyond.

The 12^th Regional Quality Assurance Forum of the East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) was premised on the need to ensure the quality of emerging trends in the higher education sector through quality assurance. The Forum took place from 05^th to 08th  September 2023 in Bujumbura, Burundi. The Forum provided the opportunity to invite higher education professionals and other stakeholders to reflect on the place of quality assurance in nurturing emerging trends in higher learning education not only in the region but the continent and beyond.

It was envisaged that the 12th Forum would come up with sound recommendations and statements of commitment from higher education quality assurance practitioners and higher education managers to confront challenges that impede the achievement of the goal to establish and maintain quality assurance in higher education, as a tool for nurturing and ensuring the desired outcomes of emerging trends in HLIs. The Forum will be guided by the following Theme, Goal and Objectives:

Forum Goal
The main goal of the 12^th Forum was to identify the emerging trends in Higher Education through Quality Assurance. The Forum benchmarked the nurturing of emerging trends among higher education stakeholders in the region, the continent, and beyond.

The increasing importance of emerging trends in higher education services has caused its incorporation in internal quality assurance processes.  Within the broader context of emerging trends in higher education have not received much attention until recently. However, its growing importance and anticipated market opportunities have moved most higher education institutions to put in proposals for further inclusion.

It was generally expected that keynote speakers and paper presenters of this forum in each topic focus on how Quality Assurance in Higher Education Institutions can play a greater role in nurturing emerging trends in higher education in the region. More specifically, the presentations and reflections of the participants focused on quality assurance systems in higher education institutions in aspects of online teaching and learning, accreditation, competency-based education, research, and how pedagogical leaders and higher education institution managers commit themselves to producing a graduate who is transformational.

Forum Objectives

1. Stakeholders of higher education to deliberate on the impact of emerging trends in higher education on the quality of education
2. Conduct high-level quality assurance dialogue involving Senior executives from governments, Commissions, and Councils for higher education and Vice Chancellors from the region and beyond
3. Strengthen collaborations, networking, and capacity building among stakeholders involved in quality assurance in the region.
4. Disseminate quality assurance practices and benchmarks in the EAC and African higher education areas.
5. Learning and sharing experiences of good practices and challenges in nurturing emerging trends in higher education
6. Discuss possibilities and benefits of alternative quality assurance strategies to leverage expected outcomes of emerging trends in higher education in region, continent, and beyond
7. Foster cooperation and team spirit among all the Quality Assurance key stakeholders within the region and continent at large.
8. Reflect on the internationalisation of higher education and quality assurance of emerging trends in higher education institutions
9. Provide recommendations on how to enhance best practices in quality assurance to nurture emerging trends in higher education to produce graduates that are transformational

Forum Outcome
The main outcome of the 12^th Regional Quality Assurance Forum was to determine the contribution of quality assurance in promoting transformational trends in higher education. The specific outcomes are as follows:

1. Enhanced understanding of the indicators of transformational trends in higher education.
2. Enhanced collaborations and networking among Quality Assurance stakeholders
3. Increased understanding of transformational quality assurance of higher education in a rapidly changing world
4. Best practices and benchmarks of transformational higher education and quality assurance in the EAC and African Higher Education systems are shared.
5. Enhanced visibility of the quality assurance activities in the East African Common Higher Education Area.
6. Increased information and awareness on Quality Assurance guidelines and tools to nurture emerging trends in the region, the continent, and beyond
7. Increased understanding of desired outcomes of emerging trends in higher education

Forum Activities
Among the forum activities were the following;

The 12th EAQAN Annual General Assembly: EAQAN held its 11^th AGM as stipulated in the Network Constitution. Assembly will include all Quality Assurance Practitioners from country chapters and other invited guests from other parties. Elections of the new Executive Committee 2023-2025 were held where our very own Director of Quality Assurance - Dr. Amaal Kinene N. Nsereko was voted and appointed as the incoming New Secretary General for EAQAN on behalf of the Uganda Chapter.

The High-Level Quality Assurance Dialogue Event: This Dialogue event was attended by the Heads of National Commissions and Councils for Higher Education, Vice Chancellors, general higher education Managers, development partners, and other invited experts for the presentation of papers.  The IUIU Vice Rector in charge of Academic Affairs; Dr. Jamil Serwanga was among the panelists on the topic; Implications of Emerging Trends in Higher Education for Higher Education Management.

The MOU for the National Agencies, Commissions, and Councils was signed by the seven EAC partner states (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and DR Congo) in charge of regulating Higher Education in the EA region. The Executive Director UNCHE- Prof Mary Okwakol was voted the first Chairperson.