The first meeting of the Steering Committee of the EU Twinning Project “Further support to the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework“ took place on 1 December 2021 in Skopje, North Macedonia.
The project is implemented in cooperation with Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia and partner institutions from Lithuania, Slovenia, and France as Member States Partners. The leading member state in the project is Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport co-operating with the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC), the Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC), European Social Fund Agency and French High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education (HCERES) together with the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training (CPI), acting as the Junior project partners.
Mr. Seljatin Baljuli Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science of North Macedonia welcomed the members of the Steering Committee and emphasized the importance of this project for the Ministry and all the educational organizations involved in the project. The significant role of the EU member states in further strengthening and developing the National Qualifications Framework in Northern Macedonia was also strongly mentioned by the representatives of the Delegation of the European Union in the Republic of North Macedonia and the Central Finance and Contracts Department.
The project leader, Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports Dr. Agnė Kudarauskienė and the Resident Twinning Adviser Ms. Jolita Butkienė presented the team, main project goals and activities to the participants. The participants also discussed the strengths of the project: a competent management team, support and involvement of the management of the beneficiary institution, as well as, clear and realistic project objectives, and close cooperation between the EU Member States and the authorities of North Macedonia. Ms. Aurelija Valeikienė, Deputy Director of SKVC talked about the critical success factors and the need to realistically identify and manage risks as well.
“It is important to make good use of the results of previous projects in the sector, take into account previous donor recommendations and changes,” Mr. Luca Citarella, the representative of Delegation of the European Union in the Republic of North Macedonia enunciate in his speech.
The value of the project is 1.5 million euros. The estimated implementation period is 27 months. The project is funded by the European Commission.
