Zagreb/Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), with the support of Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE), organised a study visit of the Agency for Quality of Higher Education of North Macedonia to the Agency for Science and Higher Education of Croatia in Zagreb this week, which resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two agencies. 

The MoU, formalising the commitment to closer cooperation between the two agencies, was signed by Hristina Serafimovska, Director of the Agency for Quality of Higher Education of North Macedonia, and Danijela Horvatek Tomić, Director of the Agency for Science and Higher Education of Croatia.

During the study visit both teams focused on practical peer learning to: build sustained quality-assurance capacity, strengthen implementation of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), prepare for the forthcoming external review by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA); and explore opportunities for regional cooperation supported by RCC and ERI SEE.

As a concrete next step, the Agency for Science and Higher Education of Croatia, RCC and ERI SEE agreed to prepare a set of recommendations to support the Agency for Quality of Higher Education of North Macedonia in strengthening quality culture and ESG implementation, ensuring improved institutional readiness for the ENQA review.
The visit showcased the value of regional peer learning and underlined the importance of cooperation between quality-assurance agencies in the Western Balkans and the European Union, turning shared standards into everyday practice for students, staff and institutions.

This activity is part of the implementation of the Common Regional Market (CRM) Action Plan for the Western Balkans, and is funded by the European Union.