The 2023 General Assembly and Workshop of the Central and Eastern European Network of Quality
Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA) was held in Astana on 2-3 June. The heads and
representatives of the quality agencies of the countries in the European Higher Education Network
participated in the meeting hosted by Kazakhstan Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating
(IAAR). Our Chairman of the Board of Directors, Prof. Dr. Cemil Öztürk, our vice chairman and also a
member of the CEENQA Board of Directors, Prof. Dr. Dinçay Köksal, represented our organization in
the General Assembly.
The workshop entitled “People and Culture in QA Agencies” dealt with various topics related to HR
management and staff development, ranging from overall questions on the strategic level to specific
good practices on how to support staff and create a productive and welcoming working
environment. The workshop was opened by an insightful speech of the Kazakh Minister for Science
and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek, who explained current opportunities and the efforts towards
the internationalization of higher education in Kazakhstan. Presentations by Former President of
INQAAHE, EQAR Deputy General Manager and two members of the CEENQA were also included witin
the workshop program. A special panel was held to discuss the implications of digitalization on HR
management and how accreditation agencies will respond to these developments.
At the annual General Assembly held on 3 June, we elected Simona Lache (ARACIS, Romania) and
Benjamin Muhamedbegović (HEA, Bosnia and Herzegovina) for a second term and Ulkar Sattarova
(TKTA, Azerbaijan) and Diane Freiberger (FIBAA, Germany) for their first term on the board. Vesna
Dodiković-Jurković was elected as CEENQA’s new Vice-President. Furthermore, we have welcome our
new members: STAR, Turkey (full member), IKCA, Kazakhstan (full member) and HEC North Syria
(observer).