About EQANIE

The European Quality Assurance Network for Informatics Education (EQANIE) is a non-profit association seeking to enhance evaluation and quality assurance of informatics study programmes and education in Europe. It was founded on January 9th, 2009 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
EQANIE develops criteria and procedures for the evaluation and quality assurance in informatics study programmes and education. Furthermore, it develops and maintains a system for the award of a European quality-label for informatics degree programmes as well as its protection and continued further development.
It provides information about events, activities and publications relevant to quality assurance in informatics education and lists study programmes that have been awarded the Euro-Inf quality label. EQANIE maintains contacts and relations to other European or non-European organisations important for the goals of the Association.
It promotes the development of national and regional accreditation bodies.
EQANIE is organises events, seminars, workshops and conferences in its field of activities.
Background
EQANIE is to be seen in the broader political context of the Bologna Process, aiming at the creation of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The Bologna Process is closely related to the – more economically focussed –Lisbon-Strategy and its objective of developing a “European Knowledge Society“.EQANIE was founded in January 2009 to contribute to these objectives.
The Association is part of the follow-up process to the Euro-Inf Project which was co-financed by the European Union under the Socrates Programme. From 2006 until 2008, the Euro-Inf Project established and tested Framework Standards and Accreditation Criteria for Informatics Programmes in Europe.
EQANIE holds full rights of ownership and copyright on the assessment tools developed by Euro-Inf.
Objectives
Main objectives of EQANIE in the area of accreditation and quality assessment are:
    Improving the quality of educational programmes in informatics;
    providing an appropriate “European label” for accredited educational programmes in informatics;
    facilitating mutual transnational recognition by programme validation and certification;
    facilitating recognition by the competent authorities, in accord with the EU directives and other agreements;
    increasing mobility of graduates as recommended by the Lisbon Strategy
Consistent with the framework of the Bologna process, accreditation will distinguish between the first and second study cycle; it will cover informatics degree programmes of all types of Higher Education Institutions (HEI).
The hitherto existing results of the so-called Thematic Networks and the Tuning-project build the ground on which EQANIE’s activities are based. Since participating institutions of EQANIE actively take part in the Network for the Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE) and the Eurobachelor/Euromaster project of the European Chemistry Thematic Network Association (ECTNA), the project particularly takes into account the positive experience and results gathered there.
Constitution Act and Statutes of EQANIE, Version March 07, 2011.