Participation in the 3rd meeting of the Bologna Follow-up Group in Ukraine (Kyiv, March 27, 2019)
On March 27, 2019, the 3rd meeting of the Bologna follow-up group in Ukraine (hereinafter – BFUG) was held at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Sergiy Londar, Director of the State Scientific Institution “Institute of Educational Analytics” (hereinafter – SSI “IEA”) Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor and Alona Natorina, the Head of the Higher Education Statistics and Analytics Department, Ph.D. in Economics participated in the meeting.
The opening speech was delivered by Yuriy Rashkevych, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, member of the National Team of Experts on Reforming Higher Education of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor.
Within the framework of the meeting, the BFUG members got acquainted with the results of the 2nd Intergovernmental Meeting on the Global Convention on Higher Education Qualifications, held in Paris on March18-22, 2019.
According to the agenda, the meeting focused on the discussing of the conceptual issues of the Bologna Process implementation in Ukraine, namely:
- key provisions of the bill “On professional pre-higher education” (short cycle);
- bringing the National Qualifications Framework in line with the European Qualifications Framework in the European Higher Education Area (EQF-EHEA) and the European Qualifications Framework for Life-long Learning (EQF-LLL);
- updating the forms of high “On the Procedure for Exercising the Academic Mobility Right”;
- recognition of the accreditation of the educational programs, performed by the foreign accreditation agencies or the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA);
- cooperation with the countries of the European Higher Education Area in the format of structured peer support (thematic peer group 2 and thematic peer group 3);
- participation in the international comparative research “Eurostudent” (http://eurostudent.org.ua/);
- membership of Ukraine in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR).
In the course of the meeting, the priority directions of the BFUG activities in Ukraine were determined. In particular, there was a talk on renewing the membership, as well as the plan and structure of the BFUG in Ukraine for 2018–2020.
The next part of the meeting was devoted to the approval of the Work Plan of the BFUG in Ukraine for 2019–2020. The National report preparation for the Ministerial Conference in Rome (June 2020) and development of policies according to the priorities of the European Higher Education Area (hereinafter – EHEA) – were identified as the main tasks for this period.
Other issues raised during the meeting included concern about the preparation for the 65th BFUG meeting and the 15th General Assembly of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), which will take place in Bucharest during 3–5 April 2019.
The BFUG members in Ukraine also underlined the importance of Ukrainian co-chairing within the framework of the EHEA from January 1st to July 1st, 2020.
At the end of the meeting, each participant received a copy of the Bologna Process Implementation Report: “The European Higher Education Area in 2018”, which will be useful in the course of the BFUG work in Ukraine.
Useful resources:
1) Support for the implementation of key Bologna Commitments
2) The Framework of Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA)
4) Statement of the fifth Bologna Policy Forum, Paris, May 25th,2018
Information and photo from Press Service of the MES