Fostering International Internship Program through Collaboration with EQAAs from Taiwan and Japan
Virtual and Onsite

It has been a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship between the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA), Thailand, the Japan Accreditation Association (JUAA), and the Taiwan Assessment and Evaluation Association (TWAEA). Among the three agencies' top priorities were academic collaboration and professional development.

As host agency for the International Internship Program2023, TWAEA organized a mixture of a two-month online internship and a one-week onsite internship in Taipei, Taiwan. The program aims to support learning, collaboration, diversity, talent development and organizational effectiveness. It contributes to a culture of continuous improvement, fosters innovation, and helpsQA agencies adapt to changing environments and work processes.

There were four interns involved in the internship program: Ms. Nualsupak Phunsap and Dr. Suchaya Sangcharoon represented ONESQA, while Ms. Miharu Kato represented JUAA, and Ms. Cindy C.Y. Lee represented TWAEA.

As part of an online internship conducted from August to October 2023, TWAEA provided a comprehensive workshop. This workshop covered various elements, including Taiwan's external quality evaluation standards and indicators for the next evaluation cycle, the implementation of Higher Education Institutions' (HEI) internal control and audit systems, preparation strategies for onsite evaluations, and the training of reviewers.

During the internship, specific events were highlighted, such as TWAEA's school evaluation briefing session, which included the scheduling of evaluation slots on August 23, 2023. Additionally, a practical workshop focusing on the institutional evaluation of technical colleges and universities in Taiwan for the new evaluation cycle took place on October 2, 2023.

Throughout the on-line internship program, the interns had the opportunity to observe

the aforementioned activities in real-time through the internship program's online platform. Also, the interns gained a deeper understanding of each TWAEA’s standard and indicator, evaluation process including report writing, as well as code of conducts related to the training of reviewers.

The program for on-site internship was then conducted in Taipei from 18 to 23 December 2023. The interns were tasked with observing every step of the actual institutional evaluation of Takming University of Science and Technology and the actual program evaluation of Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology. Those were done as part of routine evaluations with daytime division schedules for such activity evaluations, such as preparatory meeting, institution presentation, data verification and confirmation, campus tour, and evaluation checklist with a consensus.

Upon completing the internship program on 23 December 2023, the interns presented their input, gained experience, and received an internship certificate. This was to confirm that the three agencies had committed to educating their staff on quality assurance system across cultures and nations. The accomplishment of the internship program was acknowledged by executives from the three agencies, and they expressed the hope that similar activities would continue in the future.

On that day, which was a very significant part of the last day, executives and colleagues from the three agencies jointly met for a critical discussion to determine the trial evaluation plan using the iJAS Plus system for HEI in Thailand. With excellent cooperation from JUAA and TWAEA, this had advanced significantly. Therefore, the coming year was supposed to coincide with the implementation of a pilot project to evaluate one HEI in Thailand. Additionally, the knowledge and academic information that ONESQA staff acquired through the internship program can be applied to the iJAS Plus system as well.