Participation of AAEPO in the International Conference

On 8 December 2023, Director of AAEPO Baktybek Ismailov participated in the International Conference "Central Asia - European Union: promising areas of cooperation in the field of improving the quality of training specialists", which was held in Almaty at Satbayev University. At the conference, representatives of European accreditation organizations, international and domestic experts, heads of universities from Kazakhstan, Germany, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other countries discussed topical problems of improving the quality of training of highly qualified specialists, issues of public and professional accreditation, certification and ranking of universities.

The conference was organized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Republic of Kazakhstan, Satbayev University, National Academy of Sciences Higher School of Kazakhstan (NAS HSSK), Kazakhstan Association of Modern (Elite) Education KAZSEE with the support of the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE), European Federation of National Engineering Associations (ENGINEERS EUROPE), International Observatory for Academic Ranking and Excellence (IREG), ENTER Network for Professional Development of Engineering Educators.

The participants considered important aspects of the formation of the Common Scientific and Educational Space between the EU and Central Asian countries, further development of the Khujand Agreement, as well as issues of accreditation, certification and ranking of universities in the Central Asian region.

The Khujand Agreement signed within the framework of the European project ERASMUS+ in 2017 (Khujand, Tajikistan) by the countries of the Central Asian region, accreditation agencies and universities, laid the foundation for the establishment of the Central Asian Federation of Engineering Communities "KCTUZ", commitment to regional and global cooperation. Involvement of such international structures as ENAEE, Engineers Europe, IREG, Association for Engineering Education of Russia (AEER) in the process of training highly qualified personnel for the engineering and technical industry of Central Asian countries will enable universities to strengthen and successfully develop scientific and educational potential.

The plenary session of the conference was addressed by ENAEE President José Quadrado, ENGINEERS EUROPE Secretary General Dirk Bochar, IREG President Waldemar Siwinski and other invited foreign guests.

At the end of the conference a resolution was adopted, which reflects the main directions of joint activities, including the following: promotion of international accreditation standards in Central Asia, including the EUR-ACE quality mark for the implementation of the principles of the Khujand Agreement; joint development with the European Federation of the project on certification of specialists in Central Asia in the framework of the ERASMUS+ programme, as well as the establishment of the Centre for certification of specialists according to the ENGINEERS EUROPE standards; provision of advisory services to universities of Central Asia on the extension of the international accreditation standards in Central Asia.

Representation in the Central Asian Federation for Quality Assurance of Engineering Education in 2024 is transferred to Kyrgyzstan. In September, within the framework of the Central Asian Federation, AAEPO together with KSTU named after I. Razzakov is planning to organize an international conference on improving the quality of engineering education in Central Asia.