Cross-border quality in focus: QSU engagement with leading Irish universities through Erasmus+

The University of Malta’s (UM) Quality Support Unit (QSU) team participated in a week-long Erasmus+ Staff Mobility visit to Ireland in December 2025, during which they visited the Quality Office at University College Dublin (UCD) and the Quality Enhancement Unit at University College Cork (UCC).

The visit served as a valuable capacity-building opportunity and provided a platform for the exchange of good practices between UM and two of Ireland’s leading universities with a particular focus on strengthening internal quality assurance (IQA) systems. It also contributed to further strengthening the close and constructive collaboration between the three institutions.

Through an intensive, tailor-made programme coordinated by the hosting quality and academic governance offices at UCD and UCC, the QSU team engaged with key institutional stakeholders whose responsibilities directly inform the design, implementation, and continuous enhancement of QA processes. These discussions offered valuable insights into how the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015) principles, such as the design of programmes, student-centred learning, stakeholder engagement, evidence-based evaluation, and continuous improvement, are operationalised within the Irish national QA framework, thereby supporting institutional accountability, transparency, and enhancement.

The knowledge and practices shared during the visit will inform the ongoing development of UM’s IQA processes, supporting closer alignment with ESG 2015 and reinforcing a culture of continuous quality enhancement across UM.

Special thanks are due to the staff members of the hosting universities’ offices, in particular Ms Bronwyn Molony and Ms Elizabeth Noonan, Directors of the Quality Offices at UCD and UCC respectively, for their support and hospitality.