Professor Al Maqatei, members of the Board of Trustees, KILAW staff, students and your families.
Thank you for inviting me and my colleague to this very special occasion, we are very happy to be here joining in your celebrations. This is a special day for all of you and most particularly for graduating students and their families. It is however, a special day for KILAW for another reason.
The School recently went through an external review of the education it provides, undertaken by the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. This is the agency that carries out reviews and audits of all universities and colleges providing higher education in the UK.
The agency also offers its reviews to institutions in other countries. KILAW went through such a review in September and it has now learned it has passed the review successfully. ‘Completing an International Quality Review provides accredited recognition from the UK that will strengthen KILAW’s reputation, and demonstrate to students and partners that its quality assurance arrangements meet international best practice.
I was the manager of the review and my colleague, Dr Roy Ferguson was a member of the panel carrying out the review so it is a particular honour for us that you have invited us back to join in this ceremony.
I have much pleasure in awarding you this certificate which confirms that the education at KILAWS has been quality assured by the UK Quality Assurance Agency and that you have passed all ten of the European Standards and Guidelines for Higher Education.
HAND OVER CERTIFICATE.
The Chief Executive of the Quality Assurance Agency, Mr Douglas Blackstock, wouldvery much have liked to have attended in person but there is a meeting of the QAA Board of Governors today which prevents him from joining you. He has however sent a message, which I will now read:-
STATEMENT FROM CHIEF EXECUTIVE, QAA
KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL LAW SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL QUALITY REVIEW CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION
Wednesday 13 December 2017
To be read by Alan Weale, QAA,on behalf of the Chief Executive.
I am delighted that the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is, today, presenting the Kuwait International Law School with this certificate, on the successful completion of its International Quality Review.
The School is only the second higher education provider in the world to successfully complete a QAA International Quality Review – and the first in the Middle East. So many congratulations to all involved.
During the review, our team analysed the School’s quality assuranceapproaches against Part 1 of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.
In the final report on the review, I took pleasure in reading about the areas of good practice which our review team found, including:
- Your strong emphasis on professional practice, which enhances the employability of your graduates
- The English language support which provides further opportunities for your students to undertake bilingual study
- The significant range of support provided for the continuing professional development of your faculty members
- The significant support for students provided by your academic advisers and teaching assistants
- And your high level of engagement with external legal competitions, to help graduate career development
One of the three aims of QAA’s strategy is to use our international reputation and partnerships to benefit UK higher education. We work with governments, quality agencies and individual providers around the world, because we believe that assuring and improving the quality of higher education internationally has mutual benefits. And International Quality Review is one of the ways in which we do that.
So we are delighted that the Kuwait International Law School has chosen to use International Quality Review to assure and develop its approaches. Because everyone here today has a shared commitment – to ensuring that your students have the best possible academic experiences. And giving them strong foundations from which to contribute to their own and society’s future prosperity.
Congratulations once again. Thank you.