International scientific and practical conference «National quality concept: state and public consumer rights protection»03.10.18
On October 1st and 2nd , the Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics jointly with the Committee on Science and Higher education held the International scientific and practical conference «National quality concept: state and public consumer rights protection».
The aim of this conference was to highlight the best practices of national concepts realization in the field of quality management and prospects of their development in terms of consumer rights protection.
Within the framework of the conference there have been held a plenary session, affiliated meetings, round tables, master classes, devoted to the discussion of the following questions:
- «Accreditation in higher education as a course of consumer rights protection: problems and development prospects»;
- «Consumer rights protection in the market of financial and insurance services»;
- «Consumer rights protection in the market of medical services»;
- «Cyberspace: opportunities and prospects of consumer’s choice».
Among the participants of the conference were: Russian and foreign scientists and specialists in economics, sociology, law; representatives of the teaching staff of higher education institutions, staff from scientific institutions, community organizations, public authority representatives, students and post-graduate students.
Erika Soboleva, the Director General of AKKORK also took part in the conference giving a speech entitled «Accreditation of agencies for quality assurance in higher education as a form of public control over their activities». The presentation was devoted to the activities of two big associations of agencies: INQAAHE (International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies) and ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education). In her address to the participants of the Forum Erika made a conclusion about the usefulness of accreditation procedures by third parties for the community. It enables universities, parents, future students, government, quality assurance agencies to build trust with each other, and form this way a base for a system of public control over the activities of quality assurance agencies, which in its turn is a task of primary importance. The accreditation helps to foster and support the quality assurance agencies’ best practices, to protect the system from fictitious providers, which will in the end serve the interests of all stakeholders and the society in general.
