HAQAA3 brings continental quality assurance perspectives to the 15th EAQAN Conference
The HAQAA3 Initiative is contributing to the 15th East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) Forum and Conference, taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, from 7 to 10 September 2026. Its participation brings continental perspectives and experience to regional discussions on the future of quality assurance in higher education.
Hosted by the Government of Rwanda and presided over by Minister of Education Hon. Joseph Nsengimana, the conference is being held under the theme Transforming Quality Assurance for Future-Ready Higher Education Systems in East Africa.
The event brings together higher education institutions, quality assurance agencies, policymakers, practitioners and development partners to exchange experiences and explore approaches to strengthening quality assurance systems across the region.
From continental standards to practical implementation
HAQAA3 contributed to the conference with a dedicated panel discussion on the practical implementation of the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA). Held on 7 September, the session examined how continental quality assurance frameworks are being applied in different institutional and national contexts.
The panel was chaired by Apiyo Okwiri of Obreal, representing the HAQAA3 Management Team, and brought together experts and practitioners who approached the implementation of the ASG-QA from different but complementary perspectives. Prof. Rachel Akimana from Burundi drew on her experience as a HAQAA3 National Quality Assurance Agency Review expert, while Prof. Eunice Marete from Kenya contributed insights from a dissemination project exploring how artificial intelligence can support internal and external quality assurance in alignment with the ASG-QA. Mr. Abdou Cisse from Senegal connected the discussion with the results of the HAQAA3 Networks ASG-QA Mapping Dissemination Project, and Dr. Robert Ayine from Uganda and the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) brought the perspective of the Anglophone Cluster of the HAQAA3 African Credit Transfer System (ACTS). Looking ahead, Dr. Abdallah Baguma from Rwanda, an advisor to the Pan-African Quality Assurance Alliance (PAQAA), reflected on the future development of continental quality assurance in Africa.
Connecting regional and continental processes
HAQAA3’s participation comes at an important stage in the development of the East African Common Higher Education Area, which seeks to improve the comparability, compatibility and mutual recognition of curricula, qualifications and quality assurance systems across Partner States.
The conference offers an opportunity to connect this regional integration process with wider continental developments and consider how common standards can strengthen trust, recognition and cooperation across African higher education systems.
These discussions are particularly relevant as quality assurance agencies and higher education institutions respond to digital transformation, new forms of learning, emerging qualifications and increasingly interconnected education systems.
The HAQAA3 contribution also relates closely to the conference’s three main areas of discussion: digital transformation and artificial intelligence for data-driven quality assurance; micro-credentials and alternative credentials for lifelong learning; and recognition, mobility and integration within the East African Higher Education Area.
Through its participation, HAQAA3 is sharing lessons from its capacity-building, agency review and mapping activities while reinforcing collaboration between regional and continental quality assurance communities. The conference contributes to the continued development of a shared African quality assurance culture grounded in mutual learning, trust and continuous improvement.
