Tirana, 10 October 2025 – The Director General of the Kosovo Accreditation Agency (KAA), Mr. Naim Gashi, participated as a panelist and moderator at the EU Policy Conference “Advancing Quality Assurance and Recognition in the Western Balkans,” organized by the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) in cooperation with the European Commission.

In the thematic session titled “Institutional-level Quality Assurance Systems: From ESG to Cross-border Practice,” Mr. Gashi shared with representatives of higher education agencies and institutions from across the region and the European Union the best practices stemming from KAA’s registration in the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR). He emphasized that Kosovo is now being recognized as a success story in advancing quality assurance in higher education.

The session moderated by Mr. Gashi also featured Mr. Aleksandar Šušnjar, Director of EQAR; Mr. Benjamin Muhamedbegović from the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eglantina Gishti from the European University Alliance UNINOVIS.

During the conference, Mr. Gashi spoke about the profound reforms in Kosovo’s higher education system, which have led to the full alignment of its legal and institutional framework with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG).

He underlined the importance of achieving a national consensus on quality in higher education, as well as the involvement of all stakeholders in KAA’s decision-making processes, fostering a system that is more open, transparent, and built on mutual trust.

According to Mr. Gashi, KAA’s registration in EQAR represents not merely a technical achievement but a cultural transformation that has positioned Kosovo on the European higher education map as a reliable and trusted partner. He added that quality assurance should not be viewed as a mechanism of control but rather as a tool for empowerment and innovation within universities.

In conclusion, Mr. Gashi stated that Kosovo’s experience demonstrates that even small systems can achieve remarkable results when guided by European values and regional cooperation. He called upon regional agencies to strengthen collaboration in building a shared European quality culture in higher education.