An International Conference on Key Principles and Elements for Models of External Evaluation
in Institutional and Program Accreditation, organized within the project „Strengthening
Capacities and Mechanisms for Enhancement of Quality Assurance System in Higher Education
in Bosnia and Herzegovina“ (SMEQA), was held on 2 and 3 December 2024 at the Faculty of
Political Sciences of the University of Banja Luka.
At the opening of the conference, the participants were addressed by the Director of the Agency
for Development of Higher Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (HEA), Prof. Dr. Enes Hašić,
the Vice-Rector of the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Dr. Dalibor Kesić, and the Rector of the
University of Zenica, Prof. Dr. Jusuf Duraković, who highlighted the importance of the project
for the further development of the quality assurance system in higher education in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
The conference in Banja Luka also featured Péter Levente Lakatos, Hungarian Accreditation
Committee – MAB’s director of international affairs and member of the Board of the European
Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), who addressed the participants
during the opening session. Mr. Levente Lakatos presented the use of ESG in various contexts
and the latest trends in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
Mr. Aleksandar Šušnjar, Director of the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher
Education (EQAR), spoke about the role of EQAR in the European Higher Education Area.
During the first day of the conference, representatives of the Agency for Science and Higher
Education of Croatia (AZVO), the National Agency for Quality in Higher Education (NAKVIS),
and the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (HEA) presented the external quality assurance system in higher education,
emphasizing its impact on the higher education system at the local and international levels.
In the second part of the first day of the conference, the analysis of the quality assurance
situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, carried out through the project, was presented.
Representatives of CIP in Bosnia and Herzegovina discussed the accreditation process and the
Qualification Framework (QF) in the context of Bosnian and Herzegovinian diploma recognition
abroad.
The final part of the first day featured a panel discussion titled “Models of External Evaluation –
Challenges and Improvements,” in which representatives of agencies, relevant educational
authorities, and higher education institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, participated.
During the second day of the International Conference on Key Principles and Elements for
Models of External Evaluation in Institutional and Program Accreditation, representatives from
the University of Mostar, Luciana Boban and Monija Malešević, presented the proposed
conclusions prepared and based on the previously completed Analysis, which pertains to the
quality assurance system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conclusions were grouped into those
relating to the activities of the Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina (HEA) and the relevant
educational authorities (NOV), and the ones regarding amendments to the Framework Law on
Higher Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the second part of the conference, a discussion was held on the proposed conclusions for
improving the key principles and elements of the external evaluation model in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, followed by a meeting of the Consortium where the conclusions were adopted.
The closing remarks of the conference were delivered by representatives of the University of
Zenica, coordinators of the project SMEQA, who presented future activities within the project.
