5th International MENA Tertiary Education Conference

Tags: Education / Employment / 2016

Starts: May 30, 2016
Ends: Jun 01, 2016

Location: Algiers, Algeria
By: CMI, World Bank, Algerian Ministry of Higher Education

Paradigm Shifts in Tertiary Education: Improved Governance and Quality for Competitiveness and Employability

Lead Organizations

Center for Mediterranean Integration, Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, The World Bank Group

Partners

The British Council, UNESCO, Associaion of Arab Universities, International Association of Universities, UNIMED

Context

The World Bank (WB)/Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) Program on Tertiary Education in the Middle East and Northern African (MENA) Region, and international partner organizations with the support of the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education organized the 5th International Conference that will brought together leaders and practitioners from tertiary education institutions, government officials, representatives of quality assurance bodies, tertiary education experts and other key players from the MENA region and beyond with the goal of joint (and peer) learning on the issue of the role of tertiary education, better contributing to competitiveness and employability through improved governance and quality. This year’s conference was held on May 30 - June 1 in Algiers, Algeria, and sought to identify alternative policy options on improving governance and quality assurance in tertiary education as major paths towards competitive economies and societies, and addressed key issues of graduates’ employability in the region and beyond.

Rationale

The conference was designed to provide an opportunity for participating universities and other tertiary education institutions from the MENA region and from other parts of the world to learn from each other’s experiences and to discuss along with government officials, quality assurance agencies and other local, regional and international organizations.

The conference came as a fifth in a series of regional conferences organized by the WB/CMI Regional Tertiary Education Program and it is part of an overall effort aimed at building capacity in tertiary education institutions in the MENA region; and sharing of best practices on governance, management and quality.

This year’s conference highlighted issues of quality assurance and improved governance in light of the changing realities within the region that ultimately impact tertiary education, especially considering the need to increase competitiveness and employment opportunities.

Objectives

First, it brought together institutions of tertiary education that are actively participating in the MENA University Governance and Quality Network co-convened by WB/CMI, government officials, representatives of quality assurance bodies, experts and other key players from the region and beyond with the goal of joint (and peer) learning on the issue of Competitiveness and Employability, by identifying alternative policy options on improving governance and quality assurance in tertiary education as major path towards competitive economies and societies, and graduates’ employability increase in the region and beyond.
Second, it served as a capacity building exercise for institutional leaders and practitioners in areas such as, but not limited to, institutional planning, performance assessment, development of indicators, financial management, outreach, internationalization, etc.
Third, it supported the dialogue between and among governments and institutions particularly on developing national indicators systems and addressing the pressing issue of the employability of graduates of tertiary education institutions.
Fourth, it attracted the participation from institutional representatives from MENA countries not yet participating in the WB/CMI project, and from other regions, especially from Asia, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Finally, the event was an opportunity to enhance collaboration among existing regional actors in the Mediterranean region, exploring potential synergies in-between programs and facilitating connections among initiatives. This was addressed through the gathering of program leaders of the ‘Education, Innovation and Employability’ cluster of the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI).

Participants' PowerPoint Presentations

Press Release (EN, AR, FR)

Agenda

Plenary Session I. The contribution of tertiary education towards competitiveness and employability
Chair: Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, Director of Operations for Maghreb countries and Malta, World Bank
- H.E. Sidi Salem. Minister of Higher Education, Mauritania.
- Peter Wells, Chief of Higher Education, UNESCO.
- Rebecca Hughes, Head of Education, British Council.
- Ghouali Noureddine, General Director for Higher Education. Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Algeria.
Plenary Session II. Evidence Informed Innovations in Tertiary Education
Chair: M. Aouragh Abdelhafid, Director of Scientific Research, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Algeria
- A fragmented overview of MENA research performance. Tayfun Basal, Regional Director, Elsevier.
- Trends in Higher Education in the MENA Region. Karma El-Hassan, Director, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
- Human Capital Challenges to learning and competency development in higher education systems of the Arab States. Dakmara Georgescu, Program Specialist, UNESCO.
A1. TERTIARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYABILITY STRATEGIES IN THE 21st C
Moderator: Hana A. El-Ghali, World Bank
- Developing and implementing an institutional employability strategy for the 21st Century, in a modern Civic university: Liverpool John Moors University case study. Joanne Ives, Liverpool John Moors University, United Kingdom.
- The significance of 21st century skills in higher education and the impact of self- directed learning to achieve non-cognitive attributes among university graduates in Lebanon. Hassan Khashfe and Anwar Kawtharani, LIU, Lebanon
- Employability inclusion in the curriculum : impact on governance & graduate employability, Amine Bensaid, Mundiapolis, Morocco.
A2. TERTIARY EDUCATION FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND EMPLOYABILITY
Moderator: Silvia Marchionne, World Bank
- A Tertiary education for employability. Nan Yeld, British Council.
- Towards entrepreneurial architecture in Algerian higher education: the case of the Ecole Polytechnique d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme. Mohamed Salah Zerouala and Kahina Amal Djiar, EPAU, Algeria.
- Promoting Entrepreneurship Education: A Case Study of Palestine Employment for Education (PEFE). Adel Zagha, Birzeit University, Palestine.
A3. GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CHANGING CONTEXTS
Moderator: Ahmad Jammal, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Lebanon
- Building a University Shared Governance Framework for a changing global market.Georges Yahchouchi, USEK, Lebanon.
- Higher education financing and autonomy in Vietnam. Lan Anh Vu, World Bank, Vietnam.
- Developing National Economic Resilience and Higher Education – The Case of Malaysia. Abdul Razak Ahmad, CTEF, Malaysia.
A4. TERTIARY EDUCATION, CITIZENSHIP AND LIFELONG LEARNING
Moderator: Lea Iungmann, World Bank
- Citizenship education in the LMD Reform: the unheard hidden curriculum. Mohammed Milliani, Oran 2 University, Algeria
- Lifelong learning and inspiration in the context of Palestinian public sector. Rabeh Morrar, An-Najah University, Palestine.
- The role of Lebanese universities in educating displaced and refugee children in Lebanon, Michel Majdalani, LAU, Lebanon
Plenary Session III. From good ideas to concrete actions: Perspectives from the MENA region
Chair: Amine Bensaid, President, Mundiapolis University, Morocco.
- Omar Al-Jarrah, President, Amman Arab University, Jordan
- Abdel-Khalik Al-Farra, President, Al-Azhar University in Gaza.
- Hamid Bencheniti, Rector of University of Algiers 1.
- Najla Romdahne, Ministry of Higher Education, Tunisia
The University Governance Screening Card V. 2.0: Preliminary Findings and Discussions
E4C: An innovative regional strategy.
- Abderrahman Beddi, Manager-Education, Islamic Development Bank.
- Francisco Marmolejo, Tertiary Education Lead Specialist, World Bank.
Plenary Session IV. Partnership, regional perspective and innovation: key ingredients for competitiveness
Chair: Giulia Marchesini, Sr Partnership Specialist, CMI
- Marcello Scalisi, Director, UNIMED, Italy.
- Jacques Van Der Meer, Managerial Adviser, European Investment Bank.
- Zeinab Mazzouz, Project Manager, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
- Rene Antonio Solano, Senior Social Protection Specialist, World Bank.
- Emmanuelle Gardan, Program Manager, Union for the Mediterranean.
B1. TERTIARY EDUCATION FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND EMPLOYABILITY
Moderator: Najla Romdahne, Ministry of Higher Education, Tunisia.
- L'insertion et le développement de la Culture entrepreneuriale à l'université de Sfax.Maher Mnif, Sfax University, Tunisia.
- La relation Université-Entreprise entre conservation et innovation. Abdel- Madjid Djenane, Setif 1 University, Algeria.
- L’evaluation de la mise en place du systeme LMD : une demarche pour instaurer le projet d’établissement dans les universites Algeriennes. Abdelhamid Djakoun, UFMC1, Algeria.
- Crossing borders for employability. Roman Luckscheiter, DAAD, Egypt.
B2. TERTIARY EDUCATION: QUALITY ASSURANCE ISSUES AND PROCESSES
Moderator: Ghassan Abdel Majeed, Ministry of Higher Education, Iraq
- Future vision for the Algerian University: from the rote learning institution to the skill equipping institution. Hichem Gharbi, UEHLE, Algeria.
- Good leadership supports a comprehensive system of quality. Magda Aboulsafa, University of Sadat City, Egypt.
- Quality assurance in higher education: the case of Al-Anbar University & Al-Kufa University.Al-Noori, Al Anbar University, Iraq.
B3. PLANNING, EVALUATION AND BENCHMARKING FOR ACADEMIC QUALITY ASSURANCE
Moderator: Sadek Bakouche, President of CIAQES, Algeria
- Academic programs benchmarking for their quality improvement and international recognition and accreditation. Moh'd Radaideh, AAU, Jordan.
- Process to Establish, Assess, Evaluate and Continuously Improve the Academic Programs in the HEI. Ali Hamie, AUL, Lebanon.
- Strategic planning for higher education excellence. Soubhi Abou Chahine, BAU, Lebanon.
C1. IMPROVING QUALITY AT TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Moderator: Mohamed Miliani, University of Oran 2, Algeria
- Amélioration de la qualité d'enseignement dans un établissement de formation des enseignants: Deux études de cas . Hayet Messekher and Miloud Sofiene Benali, ENS Bouzareah, Algeria.
- La normalisation dans l’amélioration de la qualité de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche scientifique. Sadek Bakouche, CIAQES, Algeria.
- Démarche pour la mise en œuvre du référentiel qualité. Mohamed Lerari. ENSTP, Algeria.
- Le projet stratégique intégré à l'Université Virtuelle de Tunis. Béchir Allouch, UVT, Tunisia.
C2. TOWARDS IMPROVED GOVERNANCE AND QUALITY ASSURANCE ISSUES IN TERTIARY EDUCATION: CASE STUDIES
Moderator: Gail Campbell, MENA Education Director, British Council
- What good university governance is …and what it is NOT. The Role of outside evaluation, accreditation and international collaboration in fostering and enhancing good university governance. Gina Cinali, Al Akhawayn, Morocco
- Assuring and Advancing the Quality of Pharmacy Education.Michael Rouse, ACPE, United States.
- Enhancing Shared Governance at American University of Beirut(AUB). Karma El-Hassan, AUB, Lebanon.
- Challenges facing building and strengthening a robust quality assurance system in Sudan. Abdel Bagi Babiker, PCEP, Sudan.
C3. TERTIARY EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYABILITY
Moderator: Ghouali Noureddine, General Director for Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Algeria
- Key elements to gainful employment. Diane Nauffal, LAU, Lebanon.
- Tertiary Education for Employability at Al-Quds University: The Dual Studies Approach. Hussein Jaddu, Al Quds University, Palestine.
- HOMERe as Platform: Escorting Youth from Studies, to Internship & Employability. Mahmoud Bentaouti, HOMERe, Egypt.