How Do We Assure Quality When Certainty Disappears?

In higher education, quality assurance is often imagined as a stable, self‑reinforcing cycle: policies guide action, indicators measure effectiveness, outcomes inspire refinement, and standards steadily shape how we teach, assess, conduct research, and pursue societal impact.

But what happens when conditions shift so abruptly that evolution turns into disruption?

Today, under the combined pressure of armed conflict and rapidly advancing Generative AI, we face not only operational instability but fundamental challenges to the very paradigms that help us define evidence, judge comparability, and claim integrity. The question is no longer how to apply existing tools under stress—but how to re‑examine our assumptions so that quality assurance remains credible, justifiable, and worthy of public trust.

GenAI—undeniably the focus of many conversations these days—embodies disruption, carrying both immense opportunities and significant risks.

Disruption compels us to reconsider how quality assurance can continue fulfilling its public mission: supporting education that contributes constructively to society and remains true to academic values. The question extends far beyond which tools can withstand extreme stress.

Looking ahead, we have a duty to provide students—who carry the future within themselves—with meaningful, high‑quality education, even when circumstances challenge the instruments we rely on. Methodology, ethics, expertise, and entrepreneurial spirit remain our essential anchors.

Against this backdrop, colleagues from Ghent University and Kyiv National Economic University are organizing a roundtable on March 31st to explore, among other topics, quality and educational approaches in turbulent times:

Quality Assurance in Higher Education Amid War and AI: Insights from Ukraine and Belgium

Our aim is to foster open‑minded exchange, surface shared concerns, compare approaches, and create fertile ground for future collaboration. It is, in many ways, a way of shaping hope—together.

How can a university function credibly under extreme pressure? And what does it mean to design a program when Generative AI continually forces us to confront our assumptions?

We warmly invite you to join us in reflecting, discussing, and building forward.

 Event Details

Date: March 31, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Format: Hybrid
Location: Council Chamber (Raadzal), UFO Campus (Sint‑Pietersnieuwstraat 35, Ghent)
Admission: Free (registration required)  https://event.ugent.be/registration/event/dfe787e2-c8d4-4b64-8367-23ca09adeefb

More information:https://www.ugent.be/en/agenda/war-ai