OBREAL Global Director of Global Projects, Elizabeth Colucci, had the pleasure of meeting the Executive Committee and Country Chapter leads of the East African Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) on 30 June, 2023, to present and discuss the launch of the HAQAA3 contract (Harmonisation, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in African Higher Education), and elaborate important opportunities for the network over the next 5 years. HAQAA3 is the continuation of HAQAA1 and 2, financed by the European Commission and in partnership with the African Union. This phase, coordinated by OBREAL Global in cooperation with AAU, DAAD and ENQA, as well as 9 strategic implementing partners in Africa, is framed under the EU ‘Youth Mobility Flagship’ of the EU’s Global Gateway package and is an important investment for African higher education.
Under HAQAA2, EAQAN has conducted an extensive mapping exercise with sister networks RAFANAQ (Network of Francophone QA agencies) and CNAQ (National QA agency of Mozambique) to examine the awareness of and adherence to the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA). EAQAN commits to supporting HAQAA3, by offering the perspective of QA professionals in East Africa, which will be essential for dissemination and the design of training programmes that HAQAA3 will offer. In the meeting, the specific needs and added value of East Africa were discussed, as this is a region of Africa that already has its own politically endorsed higher education space, as well as networks and tools for quality assurance in the region and consolidated national QA agencies and councils. Special support for countries like South Sudan, a newer member of the East Africa Community, were also a point of discussion.
OBREAL Global currently sponsors the external assessment of EAQAN, conducted by Dr. Youhansen Eid, former present of NAQAAE, Egypt and co-author of the ASG-QA.
