Cooperation Agreement signed by NVAO and NIAD-UE

On 17 June 2010 NVAO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation (NIAD-UE) of Japan.

NIAD-UE is responsible for the evaluation of Japanse universities and the recognition of academic degrees. Because of this and in order to enhance the international cooperation between the Japanese and Dutch Higher Education Institutions the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC) also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NIAD-UE. Both memoranda were signed during a meeting at the Dutch embassy in Tokyo and attended by representatives of the Dutch and Belgium embassies.

NVAO was invited by NIAD-UE to give three presentations during the Japan - Europe Quality Assurance Seminar about their work. One presentation was held during a seminar with over two hundred participants from Japanese Higher Education Institutions. Two other presentations were given during a seminar for the board and staff of NIAD-UE and other quality assurance agencies.

NIAD-UE is preparing a publication about the Dutch accreditation system and is also interested in learning outcomes, the current NVAO pilot project that assesses the internationalisation of the programmes and the Qrossroads website.

NVAO and NIAD-UE are hoping that their cooperation will not only contribute to knowledge exchange between the two quality assurance agencies but that it will also stimulate the cooperation between Japanese and Dutch and Flemish Higher Education Institutions. During the meetings the Erasmus Mundus Programmes were discussed and the first Japanese institutions are also included in these consortia. Through the Erasmus Mundus Programmes but also trough other kinds of joint programmes and student and staff exchanges the cooperation between Japanese, Dutch and Flemish Institutions could be further developed.