Education is a long-term commitment of the society and most rewarding among all investments made. It evolves at all times to meet the needs and demand of a wide variety of stakeholders covering every individual in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ), established from its predecessor, Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation (HKCAA), has kept its excellent tradition in delivering quality service to the public. As a statutory body, HKCAAVQ plays a significant role in Hong Kong to safeguard the quality and credibility of qualifications under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) and supports continuous quality enhancement of education and training in Hong Kong through accreditation, assessment, audit, advisory and consulting services.
International benchmarking and recognition is considered by the HKCAAVQ as an essential means to support continuous quality enhancement and advancement of the Agency. After completing the External Review by the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) in 2015, HKCAAVQ has gone through another review by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) in 2021. HKCAAVQ is encouraged by the positive outcomes that it is in substantial compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) with substantive commendations in the Review Report. HKCAAVQ is the first Quality Assurance Agency outside European Higher Education Area and Europe who achieved this ESG (2015 version) compliance.
In the coming years, HKCAAVQ will undergo a digital transformation journey on the use of artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain technologies to provide enhanced service and support to the public and stakeholders. All these will crystallise into more effective and efficient service to stakeholders. In terms of education and training development, we will fully support the development of sub-degree, applied degrees, workplace learning, and micro-credentials. Great emphasis will be placed on the support to the articulation of academic, vocational, professional and continuing education qualifications through credit accumulation and transfer and recognition of prior learning.
On the regional and international front, we strive to further contribute to developing quality assurance mechanisms and implementations in the Greater Bay Area and beyond. We hope that all this groundwork could support the benchmarking and recognition of qualifications in the area in the longer term. Last but not least, international quality review and accreditation are in the pipeline.
Taking up the challenges and marching ahead; HKCAAVQ can make it.
Hon Rock CHEN Chung-nin, SBS, JP
Council Chairman