Annual Conference 2026

Date: Wednesday, 23 September 2026, 10:00–16:30 followed by a wrap-up session
Registration: starting at 09:00
Venue: University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, Campus Platz 1 · 3100 St. Pölten

Register for the annual conference by September 15, 2026, using this link.

Please note when registering: To participate, you must first register in ConfTool (create a user account). Only then can you register for the individual sessions.

The AQ Austria Annual Conference will focus on how quality assurance can proactively promote the sustainable and high-quality development of international cooperation in higher education and contribute to shaping a future-proof European Higher Education Area.

Today, higher education institutions naturally operate in an international context: With more than 60 European higher education alliances, an increasing number of joint programs and transnational study and research initiatives, as well as numerous networks and mobility opportunities for students and teaching staff, internationalisation is no longer merely a strategic goal at Austrian higher education institutions, but a reality in practice.

In practice, however, integrating international cooperation models into existing structures also presents challenges and areas of tension – both at the interfaces between cooperation partners and within the context of national legal frameworks and growing global trends toward stronger national demarcation. AQ Austria's annual conference is dedicated to the question of how quality assurance can proactively promote the sustainable and high-quality improvement of international higher education cooperation, thereby shaping the Austrian and European higher education landscape for the future.

It is essential that international collaborations have a tangible effect – an impact – at all levels of a higher education institution: on students, teaching staff, and researchers. To achieve this, they must be integrated and implemented at both the strategic and operational levels. The specific approaches to quality and quality assurance in the context of international collaborations are diverse and often challenging.

In line with an impact-oriented approach, AQ Austria's annual conference examines the topic from the diverse perspectives of higher education institutions, European alliances, joint program consortia, quality assurance agencies, ministries, and students at both the national and international levels. Against the backdrop of a wide range of positive experiences with international cooperation, yet also with a critical eye toward existing and future challenges, this year’s annual conference offers a platform for exchange and networking on the topic of “International Cooperation and Quality in Higher Education.”

Additional workshops on the day before the conference, Tuesday 22 September 2026

For the first time, AQ Austria is offering two parallel workshops on the day before the annual conference:

• "RPL in Practice: Implementing the recognition of non-formal and informal learning at universities"
• "Understanding and Shaping Quality: AQ Austria’s Services and Approaches"

Conference participants may book these as optional extras free of charge. Places on the workshops are reserved for university staff and are limited.

Please note: Places for the workshops on the day before the conference will be confirmed by email by 1 September 2026; please register for them as part of your conference registration by 31 August 2026 at the latest! Registrations will generally be confirmed on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, whilst taking into account a mix of higher education sectors; due to the limited number of places, we ask that, as a rule, only one registration per higher education institution be submitted.

Special thanks go to the USTP for kindly providing the facilities.