III International Festival "Student Spring of the BRICS and SCO Countries"

More than two thousand people from 23 countries came to the capital of the Stavropol Territory to participate in the III International Festival "Student Spring of the BRICS and SCO countries. It took place on June 4 - 9, 2019.

During the Educational Forum of the III International Festival "Student Spring of the BRICS and SCO Countries", the international practices of quality control in higher education were presented. The forum’s speakers represented the educational accreditation organizations from Russia, Armenia and China.

Students interested in obtaining quality education are involved as quality assurance experts in Russia, Armenia, Europe and China. Each country develops and implements its own projects for students’ training and participating in external reviews.

Lemka S. Izmaylova, NAA’s Director, in her report informed that NAA is a full member of the European Association for Quality Assurance of Higher Education (ENQA) and NAA’s activity meets the requirements of the Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). In the European system, a student is a full member of the review panel.

In Russia, 85 student have been trained to participate in external review for assessing quality of higher education. There are already objective data on the effectiveness of their involvement in the process of analyzing the universities’ work. They understand gaps in study programs, if the programs are overloaded or not sufficiently loaded.

A similar program is carried out in Armenia. Students as other external reviewers conduct surveys, analyze study programs, evaluate universities from students’ perspective. Some of the student continue their professional activities in Rosobrnadzor.

Dr. Hao Zhing, the representative of the Chinese quality assurance organization, focused the participants’ attention on the demand of young people for modern education forms in accordance with the UNESCO recommendations. In this regard, new forms of education are being introduced in China: smart audiences, applications with access to classes at any convenient time, the use of QR codes in the classroom.

The Chinese expert indicated in his report: “Methods for students’ participation in the evaluation of study process are still limited. Many students are not motivated enough to participate in this assessment”.

The meeting of the departments’ heads for youth affairs of the BRICS and SCO countries also took place within the framework of the International Festival in Stavropol. The foreign delegations noted the exchange of educational programs and projects, increase of students’ access to quality education as the top priorities for higher education.