12 - 15 December 2016 Study visit in Madrid, Spain

The Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR) organized a study visit for Armenian students from 12th to 15th December 2016 within WP4 activities, according to the work plan.

On behalf of the host University a team built by quality management staff, professors, and student support staff organized the meetings with six Armenian students, three coming from the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA) and the Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts (YSAFA) and the SPARQS representative.

The aim of the study visit was the presentation of the Quality Assurance System in Spain for Higher Education Institutions, the way QA is integrated into the teaching/working process at UNIR, as well supporting the Armenian guests in applying QA standards through simulation exercises.

A rich programme has been developed, under the coordination of Prof Daniel Burgos, Vice-chancellor for Knowledge Transfer and Technology, and Rubén González Crespo, Director of the Engineering School at Universidad Internacional de La Rioja

Theoretical and practical perspectives have been approached structured as training sessions, role plays, and case studies along the four days of the meetings. The four stages of the quality assurance services managed by ANECA (Spanish Quality Assurance Agency) were the guidelines for the activities organized each day: the ex-ante analysis, the verification process (VERIFICA), the running process (MONITOR), the ex-post evaluation, accreditation process (ACREDITA) and the audit process (AUDIT).

The students’ vision on the QA as part of the process has been explained, as well as their role in each task. Each student had to work with all possible situations and roles. The guest students were introduced the offices and services of an online university, a not so usual model with specific characteristics and modus operandi specificity.

During the four days the Armenian students had also the opportunity to get acquainted to significant UNIR offices and services: Quality Office, Career Services Office, Research and Innovation Office, School of Engineering and Technology.