Promoting Quality Culture in Higher Education Institutions (PQC)

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION IN TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR QUALITY MANAGERS1

8-10 April 2013, Lisbon, Portugal 22-24 May 2013, Zagreb, Croatia 26-28 June 2013, Essen, Germany
Deadline: 8 January 2013
1. Introduction In the autumn of 2012, the European University Association (EUA) launched a new project entitled Promoting quality culture in higher education institutions (PQC), in partnership with the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), the University of Duisburg-Essen, the University of Lisbon and the University of Zagreb. The PQC project will follow up and build on the recently completed EUA-led project Examining quality culture in higher education institutions (EQC, 2009-2012). Research conducted within the framework of that project showed that while the majority of HEIs in Europe have built up quality assurance (QA) systems, those in charge of managing quality processes at universities (further: quality managers) feel the need for further capacity building in how to incentivise all stakeholders (students, academic and administrative staff) to take on the responsibility for quality, i.e. how to foster quality cultures. The PQC project will fulfil this need by developing and implementing three training workshops with a practical approach to strengthening quality cultures and providing quality managers with the opportunity to exchange experiences and build connections for future cooperation at European level. Moreover, PQC will exploit the inputs gained from the universities themselves through the trainings to devise a workshop for the staff of the European quality assurance agencies. In this way it will communicate to the agencies how they can support HEIs in fostering quality cultures through the external QA procedures which they design and carry out. More information about the project and electronic copies of relevant publications can be found on the project website: http://www.eua.be/pqc 2. Training workshops for quality managers As part of the project, the partners will organise three training workshops for quality managers from European HEIs. The objectives of the trainings are: to build capacity of quality managers from HEIs across Europe to develop such internal quality assurance systems that are embedded in the institutional strategies and cultures; to promote European cooperation and sharing of good practices in the field; to raise awareness regarding the importance of internal QA and in particular quality culture; and to collect feedback on how QA agencies can support HEIs in fostering quality cultures.

The trainings will explore questions such as: How to build effective communication structures for engaging staff and students in quality culture? How to use staff development as a means for enhancing quality? How to connect QA to the decision-making processes at all levels? How to avoid hindering creativity at the university through bureaucratic QA processes?

The term quality manager is used to include those in charge of quality processes at universities, whether at the leadership or managerial level.

The three training workshops will take place in: Lisbon, Portugal, 8-10 April 2013 Zagreb, Croatia, 22-24 May 2013 Essen, Germany, 26-28 June 2013 3. Programme Day 1 Afternoon 20.00 Day 2 9.00-18.00 19.30 Day 3 9.00-12.30 12.30

Arrival of participants Welcome dinner Plenary and working group sessions Dinner Concluding plenary sessions Lunch and departure of participants

4. Eligibility Participation in the training workshops is open to all EUA member universities from those countries eligible to take part in the Lifelong Learning Programme2. Participation is limited to one representative per institution. Each institution can only send a representative to one of the three workshops. Representatives will commit to attending the whole workshop. Participants are invited to reflect on the training themes before arriving, as active participation will be expected from all participants. 5. Selection criteria Each training workshop is limited to a maximum of 20 participants. Selection will be done primarily on the basis of the answers given to questions 4 and 5 on the application form (responsibilities related to project topic, motivation for applying). In addition, the following aspects will be considered: Geographical distribution of the universities Balance of institutional profiles (e.g. multi-faculty, art, other specialised) 6. Terms and conditions for participation Participation fee: There is no fee for participation in the training. Travel and accommodation: Participants institutions will be responsible for organising and financing their travel and accommodation. To help reduce travel costs, the training workshops are organised in three different locations throughout Europe, and participants are encouraged to attend the workshop most convenient to reach. To help reduce accommodation costs, the hosts will arrange discounted rates at convenient hotels. Meals: Meals during the programme (lunches, coffee breaks, dinners) will be organised and covered by the project. The participants are expected to attend all sessions of the training workshop.

7. Applications and the deadline Individuals interested in participating in the training workshops are invited to fill in the online application form available here https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NGT2K9X at the latest by 8 January 2013. Any questions on the project or the application process should be addressed to pqc@eua.be.
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EU-27 members states, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Croatia, Switzerland and Turkey.