About Partners
The partners in the project have been selected on the base of existing mutual interests, common values, respect, trust and a history of cooperation and liaison.
PARTNER 1:
Name: Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences (WUAS)
Country: The Netherlands
WUAS is a degree awarding private higher education institution in the Netherlands that is characterized in offering English-taught degrees to students from around the world, and specialized in internationalization of higher education, from all aspects including the international curriculum, the international classroom, student and teacher mobility, and international partnerships. WUAS is well experienced in national and international accreditation systems, including the Dutch, German, Austrian and UK systems (NVAO, FIBAA, AQ, QAA) and knowledgeable about systems such as AACSB (US) and AMBA (UK). WUAS’ integrated, and positively appraised, Quality System ensures its education and student service meets the demands of multi-campuses, in the Netherlands and abroad, and that the positive appraisal of its internationalization established in Apeldoorn is maintained across all locations. Wittenborg University (P1), an expert EU-funded project manager. They have coordinated a number of international projects and have been partners in Erasmus+ projects. This is though their first experience in acting a role of a project grant holder.
PARTNER 3:
Name: 456 international B.V
Country: The Netherlands
456 international B.V. (P3) has been a frontrunner in international student & teacher mobility and in the last couple of year have set up several organizations which helps students and teachers from Netherlands, Belgium and France to study, travel and conduct internships overseas. BV International 456 (NL) will act as in-the-field team supporting the EU organizations, due to its expertise and experience in international marketing and management, providing with a team of highly qualified experts to optimize the universities work and connect with professional field. In this sense, BV International 456 (NL) together with all the partners will design tools to better involve “practice, external professional field”.
PARTNER 4:
Name: FUNDACION UNIVERSITARIA SAN ANTONIO – UCAM (ES)
Country: Spain
UCAM is a private university with 20 years of history and more than 19.000 students that offers prominent European official graduations, Master programs, PhD programs and other prestigious titles. Its teaching method is based on a personalized attention with reduced students per classes and a personal tutor for each student. UCAM also offers a modern system of distance teaching. UCAM is strongly linked with the work world through study plans adapted to market exigencies, obligatory internships in institutions and enterprises in every program and research programs in collaboration with big regional, national and multinational companies. UCAM (P2) is one of the largest and highly rated universities of Spain. Its teaching method is based on a personalized attention with reduced students per classes and a personal tutor for each student. UCAM also offers a modern system of distance teaching. It's strongly linked with the work world through study plans adapted to market exigencies, obligatory internships in institutions and enterprises in every program and research programs in collaboration with big regional, national and multinational companies. It's developed IQA system, coherent strategy and policy of quality assurance makes the education widely recognized by academic and non-academic community. UCAM will lead the respective WP in IQA indicators elaboration, strategy and policy drafting.
PARTNER 9:
Name: Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University (ASPU)
Country: Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University was founded in 1921. Its first graduation was in 1923-24 academic year. Over 100 thousand high educated cadres were prepared by ASPU. Presently there are 8 faculties in the university, more than 10.000 students' study, approximately 734 professors and teachers. The main duty of ASPU is to train highly qualified teaching staff with innovative and critical thinking who can keep pace with the country`s development. ASPU has international cooperation with higher educational institutions in many countries of the world and works on interactive teaching-learning methods. Our main task is to develop educational cooperation by integrating into all aspects of society. For this reason, we give preference to international relations and projects. These can be achieved by delivering teaching, research and social services up to the level of universal standards. Key persons have international experiences, theoretical and practical skills, the abilities to work with and manage graduates. Taking into consideration the existing theoretical and practical experience of the university, there can be created conditions for business community and career experience of students through this project at ASPU.
PARTNER 10:
Name: Nakhchivan State University
Country: Azerbaijan
Nakhchivan State University was founded in 1967. At present on 58 specialties in 12 faculties about 6 thousand students are studying in Nakhchivan State University. Highly qualified specialists are getting their higher education in bachelor, master and doctoral levels. More than 580 foreign students from around 12 countries are studying at Nakhchivan State University. In the scientific potential of the university there are 447 teachers, including 2 academicians, five corresponding members of the Academy of National Sciences of Azerbaijan, 192 Ph. Doctors and 32 Doctors of Sciences. The lab “Developmental Problems of the Region“ functioning at Nakhchivan State University, investigates the history, culture and economy of the ancient land. “Haydar Aliyev University” functioning at Nakhchivan State University plays an important role in the formalization of the modern youth and bringing up in the spirit of patriotism and national statehood.
PARTNER 11:
Name: Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU)
Country: Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Technical University (www.aztu.edu.az) is a public higher education institution based in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was established as vocational school in 1987 and reorganized as full-fledged technical higher education institution in 1950. It is one of the oldest technical universities in the South Caucasus region with a diverse range of study programs of engineering profile.
AzTU has eight faculties with more than 10 000 students, 70 Professors, 350 associate professors and 800 instructors. The faculties are Transportation and Logistics; Electric Power Engineering and Automatics; Metallurgy and Materials Engineering; Mechanical Engineering and Robotics; Information and Communication Technologies; Special Equipment and Technology Economics and Management; and German Engineering.
AzTU offers 36 Bachelor, 39 Master and 35 PhD study programs on engineering, technology, economics and management. The languages of instructions are Azerbaijani, Russian, English and German.
AzTU aims to promote research and development activities that contribute to advancement in science, technology and engineering. It has 8 research institutes with main focus areas on Data Science and Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Information Technology, Software Development and Cybersecurity, Sustainable Energy, Mobility and Environment Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing, Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Robotics, Automation and Industrial Internet of Things.
Azerbaijan Technical University has membership with Black Sea Universities Network, CDIO Initiative Universities, Member of the Association of State Universities of the Caspian Sea Region Countries.
PARTNER 12:
Name: The Education Quality Assurance Agency of Azerbaijan (TKTA)
Country: Azerbaijan
The Education Quality Assurance Agency of Azerbaijan (TKTA) was established as a public legal entity in 2019 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Its core responsibilities encompass accrediting educational institutions and validating qualifications within the national context.
TKTA's overarching mission is twofold: to uphold the quality of education in Azerbaijan and to facilitate the internationalization of the nation's higher education landscape. To realize this mission, the agency undertakes a series of strategic initiatives, including:
- Conducting accreditation assessments of educational institutions at all levels of education
- Providing recommendations for the accreditation of educational institutions and organizing trainings
- Organizing consulting and methodological support services related to the establishment and development of internal quality assurance systems in educational institutions
- Participating in the licensing of education institutions
- Recognizing the higher education qualifications of foreign countries
- Evaluating and recognizing the knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience acquired through non-formal and informal forms of vocational education
About Non-academic Associated Partners
Presently there are two key non-academic partners - Accreditation agency from the Netherlands and Ministry of Education from the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation, FIBAA which is a non-profit organisation and a nationally as well as internationally experienced agency for quality assurance. It accredits according to the standards of the German Accreditation Council. FIBAA awards its Quality Seal to higher education institutions and programmes of high quality worldwide. It is approved by the Accreditation Council and enlisted in the European register EQAR. Active membership with ENQA, EUA, CEENQA and INQAAHE, amongst others, document its international networks. Furthermore, as an official agency for quality assurance, FIBAA is officially recognised in the Netherlands, in Austria, in Switzerland, and in Kazakhstan. FIBAA holds cooperation agreements with foreign agencies of quality assurance in Australia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Poland and Russia.
FIBAA has twenty years of expertise in quality assurance and quality development in higher education FIBAA has a strong international orientation and international experience. With the highest EU quality assurance standards FIBAA will act as groundwork team supporting the EU organizations and will be a key expert in development of IQA policy and strategy. Support from FIBAA at the preparation level will not only ensure the exchange of the best practices from the EU countries but potentially align the IQA standards between different EU countries.
Additionally, FIBAA will be a key expert in development of the Quality Assurance Plan for the project which will strengthen the QA tools at international level and support the sustainability of the project. FIBAA has a vast range of offers – from programme and institutional accreditation services to specific evaluations, audits, certification procedures and individual consulting services, events and studies FIBAA has a team of competent project managers with wide experience in international quality assurance and development.
Ministry of Education Republic of Azerbaijan will provide with the groundwork support along the project life: expertise and monitoring of the intermediate and final outcomes of the project; recommendations to apply the successful project outcomes to other HEIs of the Republic of Azerbaijan; task assignment to the working group of the project to elaborate IQA tools and find solutions within the scope of the project the Ministry needs to explore; Support of the regional, national and international cooperation at ministerial level between the Republic of Azerbaijan, Russia, and EU; Support the dissemination and sustainability of the project.
Baku State University was established in 1919, Baku State University (BSU) is the oldest and the largest university in Azerbaijan where the most significant figures in the history of the Republic of Azerbaijan studied. BSU currently has 16 faculties with over 3000 personnel, with professors and teaching staff accounting for more than half of the total. More than 26,000 undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate students enroll.
BSU is partnering with more than 100 partner universities all over the world and welcomes students from more than 32 countries. Moreover, BSU offers 11 double degree (one state degree) programs with the universities from USA, Germany, France, Israel, Switzerland, and Kazakhstan.
BSU is a member of 12 various esteemed associations and institutions. The University has 2 research institutes, 2 international research institutes, 2 education internship and recreational centers, 5 international centers, 1 branch, 1 lyceum, 1 college, and the Excellence Centre for RDI.
BSU has been awarded the accreditation certificate in 2023, and 6 graduate programs were accredited by IQAA and recognized in Azerbaijan with the decision of the Accreditation Council and with the order of the Education Quality Assurance Agency (TKTA).
BSU has a Quality Assurance Center (QAC) and 2 Units (Monitoring, analyze and accreditation Unit, Training, methodological support, and development Unit) operating under QAC which is responsible for quality control, assurance, and enhancement related activities in line with the quality assurance policy and the annual action plan.
BSU continues to expand as one of the leading universities in the region, embracing innovative ideas in education, building capabilities for future generations, targeting to achieve excellence in science and research, aiming to enhance quality of teaching and research trough rigid accountability.
Some more influential non-academic participants can be referred to society at large. They are mass media (TV companies, newspapers, social media, etc.), government.