About
Achim has 25 years of experience in higher education reform and quality assurance. He served as Managing Director of the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria (AQ Austria) (2012-2019) and the German Accreditation Council (2005-2012); Head of Teaching and Learning at the German Rectors Conference (2001-2005); Managing Director of a faculty and student assessment department at Heidelberg University (1997-2001).
He has served in advisory bodies of quality assurance agencies and also as President of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, ENQA (2009-2013).
Developing quality assurance approaches
Achim has been involved in developing quality assurance systems and procedures at national and regional level in Europe, Asia and Africa, notably through his involvement in the development and revision of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ESG), the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes, the ASEAN Quality Assurance framework (AQAF) and the African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ASG-QA).
He has worked in consultancy projects funded by the World Bank, the European Commission, the European Council, UNESCO and for higher education institutions. He has also conducted external reviews of higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies in Europe, Asia, the Gulf region, and Africa.
Affiliations
Achim is member of the Quality Evaluation Panel (QEP), Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) of the Government of Macau Special Administrative Region (2023-), the Policies and Standards Committee of Qualifications and Quality Ireland (QQI) (2020-) and the University Quality International Board, Knowledge and Human Development Agency (UQAIB), Dubai (2015-).
Education
Doctorate (Dr. phil.) in History at University of Tuebingen, Germany, in 1997
M.A. at University of Heidelberg, Germany, in 1992 (subjects: History, Political Science and Public Law)
Professional Career
2020-
Higher Education Consultant
Vienna, Austria
2012-2019
Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria
Managing Director, Vienna, Austria
2005-2012
German Accreditation Council
Managing Director, Bonn, Germany
2001-2005
German Rectors’ Conference
Head of Section “Teaching, Learning, Student Assessment”; from 2002 to 2005 Head of “The Quality Assurance Project”; from January to September 2003 also acting Secretary General, Bonn, Germany
1997-2001
Heidelberg University, Faculty for Modern Languages
Managing Director, Bonn, Germany
1992-1996
University of Tübingen, Faculty of Economics
Research Assistant (part time), Tübingen, Germany
1991-1997
Political consultant (part time)
Stuttgart/Bonn, Germany
Boards
2023-
Member of the Quality Evaluation Panel (QEP), Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) of the Government of Macau Special Administrative Region.
2020-
Member of the Policies and Standards Committee of Qualifications and Quality Ireland (QQI)
2016-2019
Member of the Board of the Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher education (CEENQA)
2015-
Member of the University Quality International Board, Knowledge and Human Development Agency (UQAIB), Dubai
2015-2021
Member of the International Advisory Committee at the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ)
2014-2022
Member of the International Advisory Board of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee (HAC)
2009-2013
Member of the Bologna Follow-up Group
2009-2013
President of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), also from 2008 to 2009 Vice-President of ENQA and from 2007 to 2013 and from 2003 to 2004 Member of the Board
2006-2007
Member of the “Appeals and Complaints Committee” of ENQA
2005-2013
Member of the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation (since 2007 Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications)
Review
experience
HEIs (selection)
2022
- Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
- Malta College for Arts, Sciences and Technology, La Valetta, Malta
2021
- European University Institute, Florence, Italy
2019
- German University of Technology, Muscat, Oman
2014
- German University of Technology, Muscat, Oman
Quality assurance agencies
2022
- Valencian Agency for Quality Assurance and Forecast (AVAP); Spain
- Vietnam National University – Centre for Education Accreditation (VNU-CEA); Vietnam
- Commission on Higher Education (CHED), The Philippines
2020
- Hong Kong Council of Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ)
2018
- The Indonesian National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (BAN-PT)
-
The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA)
2017
- The Serbian Accreditation Commission (CAQA)
2016
- The Danish Accreditation Institution
2014
- The Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency, (NAKVIS)
2007
- The Austrian Accreditation Council
2006
- The Swiss Accreditation Agency (OAQ)
Expert groups,
projects, etc
(selection)
2016-2019
Member of the Advisory Board of “Harmonisation of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation”, funded by the EU commission; https://haqaa.aau.org/
2015-2019
Member of the (Austrian) Erasmus+ Advisory Council for Higher Education and Policy Measures
2013-2015
International expert in the TWINNING Project Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Quality Assurance (Bosnia Herzegowina)
2012-2015
Member of the Working Group for the Drafting of the “European Approach for Quality Assurance in Joint Programmes” (Download PDF)
2012-2015
Member of the Working Group for the Revision of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ESG), also from 2003 to 2005 Member of the Working Group for the Drafting of the ESG; https://enqa.eu/index.php/home/esg/
2012-2013
International expert in the Referencing of the Liechtenstein Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning against the EQF-LLL
2012-2013
Member of BFUG Working Group „Structural Reforms“
2012-2019
Member of the National (Austrian) Bologna Working Group
2011-2012
International expert in the Referencing of the Austrian Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning against the EQF-LLL
2010-2012
Member of BFUG Working Group „Qualifications Frameworks“
2010-2012
National (German) Correspondent for the Qualifications Framework for the EHEA
2009-2012
Member of BFUG Working Group „Transparency Tools“
2009-2011
External expert in the EDUlink project “AfriQUnits”
2008-2012
Member of the working group „German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning“
2008
Co-chair of the expert group for the self-certification of the German Qualifications Framework for Higher Education against the Bologna Qualifications Framework
2007
Member of the advisory group for ANECA’s transformation into a new legal entity
2006-2007
Member of the expert group of the Austrian Quality Assurance Agency (AQA) for the development of a Quality Audit System
2005-2012
Member of the National (German) Bologna Working Group (also 2001/02)
2005-2006
Chair of the National Working Group for the Implementation of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance
2001-2003
Member of the joint working Group for the development of a German Qualifications Framework for Higher Education