Partners

ESPAQ PROJECT PARTNERS AS CONSORTIUM MEMBERS:

1. University of Macerata(IT) – UNIMC
2. The National Union of Students in Europe (BE) – ESU/ESIB
3. Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (ES) - UNIR
4. Spiru Haret University (RO) – SHU
5. National Union of Students Scotland – NUSS (UK) – SPARQS
6. Armenian State University of Economics (AM) – ASUE
7. Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan (AM) – ASPU
8. Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts (AM) – YSAFA
9. State Engineering University of Armenia(Polytechnic) (AM) – SEUA
10. National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia (AM) - NUACA
11. Armenian National Student’s Association (AM) – ANSA
12. National Center for Professional Education QA Foundation (AM) – ANQA
13. Ministry of Education and Science (AM) – MoES

The partnership consortium is designed to fit the objectives and desired outcomes of the ESPAQ project. Consortium covers two levels: key actors on the national level, which are the Ministry of Higher Education and Research in AM (can encourage legislative changes), National Quality Assurance Agency in AM (responsible for designing and implementing QA procedures), five Higher education institutions in AM (different types – arts, polytechnics, economics, architecture and constructions and pedagogy). The valorization of the project outcomes will be ensured by ANSA - National students' union in Armenia, which is a full member of ESU and has an experience with bringing students experience in TEMPUS projects. However if in other projects, ANSA has had little say in the process of preparing the project, planning its activities, in ESPAQ designing it was directly involved and the interests of students are the core ones and the project itself responds the direct needs.

Partner institutions from the EU countries has been selected knowing their positive experience with students' engagement in QA and cultural context (Romania, Italy, Spain) which can be similar to Armenia in terms of recognizing students' role as equal stakeholders, but also changing students' mentality to participate more.

Among the oldest universities in Europe, University of Macerata, with its specialisation in humanities and social sciences, possesses extensive knowledge of the political, social, and educational structures in EU and outside Europe, and a high level of insight into EHEA trends. UNIMC pays a special attention to quality of education as well as to management (ISO9001certification) and will bring its extensive expertise to ESPAQ implementation.
Rioja International University is an example of HEI involving students in the quality assurance and brings its experience gained through previous projects related to quality assurance.

Spiru Haret University has its own experience in the field of university transformation in post-socialist societies under the premises of globalization & Europeanization. The project proposal reflects the quality assurance approach that are being promoted at SHU and is perfectly in line with SHU’s own strategy of international cooperation, which pays a special attention to their the neighbouring countries from Eastern Europe.
For sparqs (NUS-Scotland) it is the new experience of working with TEMPUS project, despite their extensive experience of working on student engagement in QA, training trainers and multipliers, producing toolkits and websites in the UK and sharing the experience with other countries through ESU network.

All project partners have extensive experience working with projects, for some of them including TEMPUS projects, and projects focused on QA in higher education are they are willing to assign competent staff to ensure the quality of project deliverable. Communication within the consortium is planned through face-to-face Management meetings and via online means or phone.

Besides that, ESU has been cooperating with the European partners in previous projects (on Quest for Quality for Students - with sparqs, on Students Guidance at University for Inclusion - with University of Macerata, SPEAQ: Sharing Practice in Enhancing and Assuring Quality with PHT), as well as in preparing new projects (Peer Evaluation of Gender Integration at Institutional Level in Higher Education- with SHU and University of Macerata).
All the project partners, according with their expertise, will be actively involved in all the project activities, specific roles being given to each of them. The responsibility of implementing successfully the project was shared among the partners, each of them having at least one work package leadership or co-leadership.

ESU as an umbrella organization for 47 other national students' unions also provide an excellent platform to the project consortium to look for good practices abroad, share the experiences and practices.