The Annual Conference of the HERE on the topic "Higher education policy reform for impact" was held on December 4-5, 2023 at the University of Barcelona, Spain, which ranks among the top 200 HEIs in the world.

At this conference, Ilhom Abdurahmanov, a Head of department for monitoring international ranking activities of the “TIIAME” National Research University, assistant teacher of the Department of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, higher education reform expert participated, and made a speech on the topic "Innovation and digitalization of learning and the impacts on internationalization" on behalf of Uzbekistan. The main goal of the conference is to present a three-stage system of reforms to promote and improve quality in the field of higher education.Higher Education Reform Experts (HERE) are nominated by their governments in EU Neighbourhood countries and appointed by the European Commission to play a catalytic role in higher education reform. HERE consists of experts from universities, ministries, national higher education agencies, student unions and other relevant organizations in countries neighboring the European Union (Southern Mediterranean Sea, Western Balkans, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia).

The SPHERE project is an initiative promoted by the OBREAL organization and the European University Association (EUA) on behalf of the European Commission. The SPHERE (Centralised Support for Higher Education Reform Experts) provides training for the HERE, and also opportunity for information and discussion on higher education policy trends in their countries and in the EU and the European Higher Education Area. In this regards, the Annual Conference of the HERE is an important opportunity for community building, networking, practice sharing and reflection.

All training topics of the conference are based on an in-depth assessment of the educational needs of the countries in the world.

The objectives of the 2023 Annual Conference are:

• Provide a space for reflection and assessment related to the re-launch of the SPHERE contract in 2023, notably in relation to the policy topics identified and the types of events and activities organised.
• Provide a specific focus on the topic of greening in higher education, presenting and discussing the preliminary results of a study that SPHERE has been requested to produce by the European Commission.
• Offer an information and practice sharing space for current reform priorities linked to the HERE Team annual work plans, as well as a space for promoting relevant EU projects connected to these reforms.
• Forecast the 2024 SPHERE work plan and overarching theme and assess the interests and needs of the HERE.

  

  During the conference, Ilhom Abdurahmanov discussed cooperation issues in various directions with the participating experts from Tunisia, Moldova, Jordan, Kosovo, Montenegro, Morocco, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.

  Participation in this conference will inspire participants to promote positive initiatives in the higher education system of their countries.

  University press service