On 13 April, the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement organized a conference at the hotel Courtyard Marriott on New Approaches to the Quality Assessment of Higher Education. Higher education institution representatives and higher education institution authorization experts participated in the conference. Director of the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria Achim Hopbach was specially invited by the center for the conference.

The updated standards of higher education institution authorization were discussed at the conference, also the vision of the higher education institutions on updated mechanisms and transitional stages.
The director of the center Tamar Sanikidze reviewed the changes implemented in the higher education quality assurance system, including changes in the authorization standards and procedures, the issue of building authorization expert corps, where the students and the employment experts will be involved for the first time. Also it was mentioned that the training (TOT) with the support of the World Bank was held for the experts selected on the first state. The training was led by the Director of the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria Achim Hopbach.

Updated standards and procedures of authorization will promote the development of the higher education quality, establishment of the quality assurance system oriented on the results, recognition and reliability of the qualifications awarded by educational institutions active in Georgia on international level, also they will promote the fulfillment of association agreement signed between Georgia and European Union and the enlistment of National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

External Quality Assurance 2017 – New Approach and New Opportunities 
Dr Achim Hopbach 
Managing Director, AQ Austria 

Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area – state of play 
Dr Achim Hopbach 
Managing Director, AQ Austria