Azerbaijani experts benchmark quality management in Finnish higher education

Mirella Nordblad

The summer season at FINEEC has continued with an international flavour, as a group of Azerbaijani experts arrived on a benchmarking visit hosted by FINEEC. The experts from five different universities and the Ministry of Education spent a week in early June learning about quality management at Finnish higher education institutions.

The week began with an introduction to FINEEC’s evaluation activities, especially the audits of quality systems at higher education institutions . The experts are currently training for future audits in Azerbaijan, and thus the visit provided an opportunity to benchmark Finnish higher education institutions.

The group then visited Diaconia University of Applied Sciences on their brand new campus in the Kalasatama neighbourhood of Helsinki. The Azerbaijani guests were impressed by how students have been taken into account in designing learning environments. “Everything has been built for the students. The working environment is very open, even the Rector doesn’t sit behind closed doors,” one of the guests commented.

At the University of Helsinki the quality staff presented the University’s quality work and shared experiences from the audit that was completed last year. The Azerbaijani experts found it enlightening to see what quality management looks like in practice.

In addition, the guests learned about the role of students in Finnish higher education institutions, in dialogue with the student unions (SYL and SAMOK). Several of the experts mentioned that the deep participation of students in the development and quality work of universities and universities of applied sciences was the most important lesson they took away from their visit.

The Rectors’ Conference of the Universities of Applied Sciences (Arene) and Universities Finland (UNIFI) also presented their work to the Azerbaijani experts. The experts reflected “a similar culture of trust and national cooperation in higher education is needed in our country.”

The visit was part of FINEEC’s two-year Twinning project in Azerbaijan, funded by the EU. The project is implemented in cooperation with the junior partner EKKA (Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education) during 2015-2017. The purpose of the project is to further improve the adherence of Azerbaijani higher education to the European Higher Education Area.

1)Visiting the campus of Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, from the top left: RTA Language Assistant/EHEA Twinning Project Tarlan Arzumanov, Head of International Relations Department Ruslan Mammadov (Ganja State University), Dean of the Faculty of Regional Studies and International Relations Anar Naghiyev (Azerbaijan University of Languages), Teacher of Methodology and Curriculum Systems Natavan Babayeva (Baku Slavic University), Director of the QA Department Ragif Gasimov (Azerbaijan State University of Economics), PhD Candidate Dongseob Lee, Senior Advisor Vusala Gurbanova (Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan), Evaluation Expert Hilla Aurén (FINEEC), Project Specialist Maija Kalm-Akubardia (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences), Head of International Programs Department Elmira Ismayilova (Baku State University), Counsellor of Evaluation Marja-Liisa Saarilammi (FINEEC), Chief Expert of the QA unit Aytan Mirzayeva (Azerbaijan University of Languages), Head of International Affairs Riikka Hälikkä (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences) and lecturer Hanna Niemi (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences).
1) Visiting the campus of Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, from the top left: RTA Language Assistant/EHEA Twinning Project Tarlan Arzumanov, Head of International Relations Department Ruslan Mammadov (Ganja State University), Dean of the Faculty of Regional Studies and International Relations Anar Naghiyev (Azerbaijan University of Languages), Teacher of Methodology and Curriculum Systems Natavan Babayeva (Baku Slavic University), Director of the QA Department Ragif Gasimov (Azerbaijan State University of Economics), PhD Candidate Dongseob Lee, Senior Advisor Vusala Gurbanova (Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan), Evaluation Expert Hilla Aurén (FINEEC), Project Specialist Maija Kalm-Akubardia (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences), Head of International Programs Department Elmira Ismayilova (Baku State University), Counsellor of Evaluation Marja-Liisa Saarilammi (FINEEC), Chief Expert of the QA unit Aytan Mirzayeva (Azerbaijan University of Languages), Head of International Affairs Riikka Hälikkä (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences) and lecturer Hanna Niemi (Diaconia University of Applied Sciences).

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