On 29–30 September 2025, ENQA took part in the 3rd meeting of the Bologna Follow-Up Group’s Coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue (BFUG GPD CG), held in Bucharest (Romania). The coordination group aims to maintain continuous dialogue between the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and other world regions and international organisations, while making arrangements for the next Global Policy Forum in Iași (Romania)/Chișinău (Republic of Moldova) in 2027. Discussions at this meeting focused on quality assurance (QA) and recognition and included a peer-learning activity with partners from other world regions.
At the meeting, ENQA presented its ongoing work on inter-regional cooperation, with a particular focus on Africa and Ibero-America, and contributed to discussions on key EHEA debates of global relevance, including cross-border quality assurance, transnational education (with forthcoming work under the ROQA-TNE project, co-funded by Erasmus+), the digitalisation of higher education and QA, and the application of artificial intelligence in QA procedures.
In April 2025, a comparative study of the ESG and SIACES’ Good Practice Principles (PBP) in Ibero-America was published under the ESG-PBP Alignment project, led by ANECA (Spain) with the involvement of the ENQA and SIACES Secretariats and other nine QA agencies from both regions. The study examines the distinct rationales underpinning each framework, highlighting the importance of context in their interpretation, while also demonstrating the many synergies between them. A second publication will follow soon, offering recommendations for alignment between the ESG and PBP. These findings aim to inform ongoing debates regarding updates of both frameworks and enhance mutual understanding for agencies operating across them.
These studies will complement the recently published SCOPE-HE study, which compares the ESG and the ASEAN Quality Assurance Framework (AQAF). Building on this work, ENQA will coordinate an upcoming initiative to map the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA) against the ESG under the HAQAA3 initiative. Together, these studies will feed into to a broader comparative analysis of the ESG and other major regional QA frameworks, to be authored by ENQA under the auspices of the BFUG coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue.
ENQA is also actively engaged with African partners through HAQAA3, supporting the establishment of a Pan-African Quality Assurance body and the development of a system of agency peer reviews based on the ASG-QA. Beyond formal projects and structured cooperation efforts, ENQA continues to collaborate with QA bodies worldwide, sharing experience and fostering peer learning for mutual benefit. Recent exchanges this year include participation in events, webinars and meetings with HKCAAVQ (Hong Kong, ENQA affiliate), CONEAU (Argentina), NIAD-QE (Japan) and BCI (Canada), as well as participation in the SPHERE initiative’s Bologna Process Symposium, organised back-to-back with the BFUG GPD CG meeting in Bucharest (Romania), involving Higher Education Reform Experts from EU neighbouring countries both within and outside the EHEA.