Welcome to ESU’s QA Experts Pool
This page provides information about ESU’s Quality Assurance Students Experts Pool, its activities as well as a collection of resources and training materials that enable members of the European Students’ Union (ESU) Student Experts Pool on Quality Assurance (QA) to carry out their duties, student representatives to participate in tasks relating to higher education quality, and students to improve their learning experiences.
In 2009, the European Students’ Union (ESU) established a pool of committed and well-prepared students who aim to improve higher education provision in Europe through quality assurance procedures.
The establishment of this pool is how ESU promotes and develops student participation in quality assurance all over Europe. The pool is renewed once a year and has an independent Steering Committee, which launches the calls and selects the applicants based on public criteria.
ESU organises study sessions, workshops and other events for pool members where they are trained.
The pool brings together students from all parts of Europe, their experience and knowledge, and an excellent forum for debating, sharing views and learning about quality assurance.
These students contribute to the ESU policymaking process, act as multipliers agents in their respective countries, collaborate in several projects, participate in Quality Assurance reviews, etc.
ESU’s Student Experts’ Pool on Quality Assurance is supported by a group of dedicated students – the Steering Committee – which is responsible for launching calls for new members and overseeing the pool’s work.
The group consists of five individuals, out of which two are members of ESU’s Executive Committee. The other three are being selected annually from the pool members, with an internal call being issued by the end of January/beginning of February.
Please, contact the pool via qapoolsc@esu-online.org
QA Pool Steering Committee:
Quality Assurance in Partnership
Become an official partner!
The Quality Assurance Student Experts Pool cooperates with all interested institutions or organizations working on quality assurance by:
- Nominating students for review panel membership
- Providing expertise at trainings, conferences or other events
- Assisting partners in other ways
Our Partners
- European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA)
- European Universities’ Association (EUA)
- Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP)
- Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education (EKKA)
- European Quality Assurance Agency (EQAA)
- European Council for Business Education (ECBE)
- Enhancing Quality in the Arts (EQ Arts)
- Evaluationsagentur Baden-Württemberg (Evalag)
- Accreditation Organisation of The Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO)
- Accreditation Agency for Study Programmes in Engineering, Informatics, Natural Sciences and Mathematics (ASIIN)
- Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (SQAA)
- Centre for quality assessment in higher education (SKVC)
- Malta Further and Higher Education Agency (MFHEA)
How to become a partner?
In order to set a framework for the conditions of working together a Memorandum of Understanding is signed between ESU and the partner. Cooperation with an individual partner is regulated by the Cooperation Agreement.
These are the steps of acquiring a new partner
- Contact us! qapoolsc@esu-online.org
- Pilot Review (first evaluation done between ESU and the potential new partner before signing the Memorandum of Understanding as a test run for both ESU and the QA agency)
- Evaluation
- Partnership agreement
ESU’s QA Student Experts Pool
Become a student expert!
ESU’s quality assurance experts pool is constantly growing. The QA Pool composition is renewed once a year, a membership term being valid until July of each year. In this regard, a public call is issued on ESU’s website and spread to the QA Pool members, ESU’s external partners and interested individuals. The call for new members is launched every year in spring and applicants are required to submit their application with a special form.
Benefits and Responsibilities
The ESU Student Experts’ Pool on Quality Assurance has been established to promote student engagement in quality assurance and to contribute to the improvement of higher education provision in the European Higher Education Area.
Thus, pool members are expected to:
- share their own experience on quality assurance,
- discuss topics on QA and/or student involvement,
- act as multiplier agent at their respective countries,
- disseminate articles or any other documents related to QA at national or international level,
- contribute to preparation of the meetings and training sessions,
- give feedback to studies or other requests, such an ESU policy paper,
- inform the pool about any QA-related event at international level,
- promote the ESU student experts’ pool on quality assurance,
- identifying themselves as members of this pool,
- foster student participation in quality assurance
Benefits for being a member of QA Pool:
- learning about European higher education
- Involvement in quality assurance processes at programme, institutional, national and international levels (e.g. evaluations of institutions and quality assurance agencies)
- Opportunities to represent the pool to external events and governing bodies, such as the steering committee of the European Quality Assurance Forum
- possibilities for networking
- opportunity to participate in specially designed trainings for reviewers
- opportunity to develop communication skills, etc.
Tasks and responsibilities that can be expected from QA Pool members:
- share their own experience on quality assurance;
- discuss topics on quality assurance and/or student involvement;
- act as multiplier agent at their respective countries;
- participate in reviews;
- disseminate articles or any other documents related to quality assurance at national or international level;
- contribute to preparation of the meetings and training sessions;
- give feedback to studies or other requests, such an ESU policy paper;
- inform the pool about any quality assurance-related event at international level;
- promote the ESU student experts’ pool on quality assurance;
- identifying themselves as members of this pool;
- foster student participation in quality assurance.
Members of the Quality Assurance Experts Pool
Currently, there are 73 students in ESU’s Student Experts Pool on Quality Assurance (QA Pool), allowing them to participate in various events, training and quality assurance and enhancement provisions. Members of the pool are being annually recruited, usually starting from the end of May/beginning of June, with an open call issued at esu-online.org.
Following is a list of people that were selected as members of the QA Pool in July 2022:
Name Surname Country of residence Erdoğan Taha Akbaş Turkey Luljeta Aliu Mulaj Kosovo Agata Andrzejczyk Poland Natália Antalová Slovakia Constantin-Marius Aradan Romania Beatriz Atienza Carbonell Spain Simge Ayyıldız Turkey Lauge Lunding Bach Denmark Jakub Bakonyi Poland Bruna Bandula Croatia Christopher Bohlens Germany Mehmet Bora Turkey Stanimir Boyadzhiev Bulgaria Mia Brzakovic Ireland Davide Busato Italy Eren Çanga Turkey Sena Çatal Turkey Tamara Ciobanu Romania Fien Cox Belgium Robi Cvitić Croatia Julia De Bono Malta Ana Duplava Romania Irina Duma Romania Eda Eren Turkey Michal Farník Czechia Michał Goszczyński Poland Natalia Greniewska Poland Leander Gussmann Austria Gaga Gvenetadze Georgia Lukáš Hulínský Czech Republic Máté Huszár Croatia Cocuz Iuliu Gabriel Romania Francisco Joaquín Jiménez Gonzalez Spain Hilal Karaoglan Turkey Sara Kawasmi Malta Thomas Keuthen Germany Anna Klampfer Austria Paula Carolina Lozano Duarte Spain Joanna Maruszczak Poland Jeremy Mifsud Malta Velibor Mladenovici Romania Damon Mohebbi Germany Mariana Morgado Portugal Liv Teresa Muth Belgium Sebastian Neufeld Germany Andrea Paricio Henares Spain Laura Peiró-Márquez Spain Rebeca Puente Mares Spain Enrico Pulieri United Kingdom Antonio Ramos Vázquez Spain Michella Ravn Søndergaard Denmark Mari Ruadze Georgia Mick Scholtka Danmark Damir Solak Czechia Suleyman Solmazgul Turkey Arnoldas Solovjovas Lithuania Ömer Faruk Sönmez Turkey Elena Štefancová Slovakia Revaz Tabatadze Georgia Berkay Tarım Turkey José Manuel Teira Alcaraz Spain Iancu Teodor-Radu Romania Topias Tolonen Sweden Angel Tores Spain Floor van der Wal The Netherlands Nienke Wessel The Netherlands Edgar Wienhausen Germany Alexandra-Simona Zamfir Romania Jessica Ziegler Germany Drobnic Matej* Slovenia Pavletić Pegi * Croatia Korzeniowski Adrian* Poland Gvritishvili Ana Gvritishvili ** Georgia Onița Horia*** Romania/Belgium * Steering Committee member
** ESU Executive Committee member
*** ESU Presidency member (without ESU QA Pool membership)
Ressources
Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESGs)
In 2015 the Ministerial Conference of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) adopted the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance as a framework for internal and external quality assurance. ESU together with the E4 group (EUA, EURASHE, ENQA) and other stakeholder organisations worked out the draft that is now known and used in the implementation of quality assurance across the Bologna Process.
Download the publication
Pool of Student Experts’ In Quality Assurance
This short brochure outlines the most important information to know about the Student Experts’ Pool.
Download the brochure
Study on Stakeholder Involvement in External Quality Assurance
The objective of the 2020 study is to take stock of the current involvement of stakeholders in external quality assurance across the EHEA. The study takes a comprehensive look at a stakeholder engagement in external quality assurance activities by mapping the perspectives of quality assurance agencies, higher education institutions and students on the topic. It also presents activities that quality assurance agencies of the ESQA project and beyond have implemented to engage their stakeholders.
The data presented in this report will be used to draft recommendations to quality assurance agencies and national authorities on effective stakeholder engagement in external quality assurance processes.
Download the study
Listen, Talk and Team-Up – Considerations for panel members in external quality assurance
The following considerations are a collection of topics and reflections with regard to communication and beyond – from looking at why effective communication is relevant in QA reviews across the different roles and expectations of involved parties to practical tips for building an inclusive and appreciative environment in remote reviews. This project aims to provide QA reviewers with reflections that are applicable and useful for all involved stakeholder groups from all levels of experience.
These notes are intended to promote the creation of a fruitful and constructive working environment, with the full engagement of all parties involved – both within the external expert panel and between the panel and the institution under evaluation.
They should provide you with an overview of the general communication during reviews, and can serve to establish a standardised approach to conducting the assessments in an online and offline format. Have a look and see which reflections and recommendations are useful for you.
Download the brochure
The Future of Quality Assurance: Role and Perspectives of Student Involvement and Student Expert Pools
At the 2021 edition of the INQAAHE conference termed “Re-Imagining of Higher Education Quality in an Age of Uncertainty” the ESU Quality Assurance Student Experts Pool Steering Committee has presented the students’ perspective on the future of Quality Assurance.
During the poster presentation the Steering Committee, first, displayed the ESU Quality Assurance Student Experts Pool as an example for structurally embedded student representation in Quality Assurance on the one hand, and as a platform for development, innovation and exchange on the other hand. Afterwards, the Steering Committee presented the students’ perspective on potential developments of QA in the upcoming years to work towards a vision on the future of Quality Assurance with a strong emphasis on student involvement. To gather data and directly involve the knowledge base of the ESU Quality Assurance Student Experts Pool student experts they were consulted in both a qualitative and a quantitative way via a questionnaire and a digitally organized Think Tank.
Please have a closer look at the poster to learn more about the outcomes of the questionnaire and the Think Tank and how student experts from the ESU Quality Assurance Student Experts Pool see the future of Quality Assurance. At this point the Steering Committee would like to thank all ESU Quality Assurance Student Experts Pool members that have contributed with their expertise and ideas for the future of QA from a students’ perspective in this project.
Download the poster
