The 12th European Quality Assurance Forum was held at the premises of University of Latvia (Riga, Latvia ) from 23 till 25 November, 2017.

The National Team of Higher Education Reform Experts (HERE team) in the name of V.M. Zakharchenko, Vice Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Affairs of NU ”OMA” and V.I. Lugovyi, First Vice-President of National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine participated in the work of forum.

The forum was organized by the following consultative group with the Bologna Process: the European Association of Universities (EUA), The European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and the European Students’ Union (ESU) in order to develop an attractive and competitive European Higher Education Area. In total, about 450 delegates from 48 countries took part in the forum, including 41 European countries as well as Israel, Canada, Japan and others.

Within the framework of the forum, a large number of issues were discussed, namely: issues of organizational changes and transformations in higher education and the role of quality, the links of institutional structures responsible for quality and communication, with the scope of work; consolidation of the European dimension in education and teaching; strategic perspective of the European Quality Assurance Register; policies and practices for the implementation of European standards and quality assurance recommendations; global prospects for regional cooperation in quality assurance; quality of educational programs and effective communication with employers; specificity of quality assurance of professional higher education; effective attraction of students to quality assurance.

The forum also discussed specific experience in ensuring the quality of higher education in different countries such as: Austria, Belgium, Armenia, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom.

The forum participants had an opportunity to discuss with colleagues from other countries proposals and cooperation projects, to clarify the various areas of cooperation and to establish professional contacts.

The materials of the forum will contribute to a better understanding of the common European trends and national peculiarities of quality assurance of higher education and their implementation in Ukraine.