Director of the Agency at the 20th Anniversary of the Croatian Agency
On Tuesday, 25 November, the Agency for Science and Higher Education (AZVO) celebrated its 20th anniversary with an international conference in Zagreb titled »Quality in Higher Education and Science: From Challenges to Opportunities – Together«. The event brought together a wide range of national and international experts, representatives of higher education and research institutions, as well as students.
In her opening address, AZVO Director Prof. Dr Danijela Horvatek Tomić, highlighted that the anniversary comes at a time of rapid and profound change – accelerated digitalisation, the development of artificial intelligence, growing global mobility and increasing social transformation. In such a context, she stressed, quality assurance is gaining new dimensions and must be open, adaptable and built on trust. The participants were also welcomed by Assistant Minister Dr. Iva Ivanković from the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, who underlined AZVO’s key role in building a visible and high-quality higher education area in Croatia.
The plenary session titled »European Perspectives on Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Science« was moderated by the Director of NAKVIS, Dr Franci Demšar, and featured contributions from Douglas Blackstock, former President of ENQA, and Aleksandar Šušnjar, Director of EQAR. The discussion focused on the revision of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG), the challenges of implementing them in national systems, the independence of quality assurance agencies, and the impact of digital transformation and artificial intelligence on quality. Particular emphasis was placed on the role and responsibility of students in developing quality assurance systems.
Participants agreed that further development of quality assurance in higher education and science is possible only through coordinated national and European policies and the active engagement of the academic community and students. The conference reaffirmed AZVO’s commitment to a transparent, trustworthy and internationally comparable system of quality assurance.
