Ensuring Quality Vocational and Higher Education in Lithuania

Annex A. Overview of stakeholder engagement within the project

Summary of stakeholder engagement

As part of the project, the OECD team organised several stakeholder engagement activities to ensure that the views of key stakeholder organisations and institutions from the vocational education and training (VET) and higher education sectors in Lithuania informed the analysis included in this report. An overview of the different stakeholder engagement and consultation activities organised as part of the project is presented in Table A.1. The research tools and stakeholders engaged in each activity were developed in close consultation with the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM). They are presented in the remainder of this Annex.

Table A.1. Overview of stakeholder engagement and consultation activities

Stakeholder engagement activities	Timing
Individual and institutional interviews
Scoping interviews (Vilnius, Lithuania)	7 November 2023
Site visits to higher education institutions (Lithuania)	26-29 March 2023
Consultation on draft (on line)	20 December 2024 – 17 January 2025
Knowledge exchange events and activities
Public launch event “Strengthening the System of Evaluation and Quality Assurance of Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training in Lithuania” (Vilnius, Lithuania)	8 November 2023
National roundtable “Best Practices and New Policies for the Quality Assurance of Post-Compulsory Education and Training in Lithuania” (Vilnius, Lithuania)	25 March 2024
International peer-learning event “Enhancing the Quality and Coherence of Quality Assurance of Post-Compulsory Education and Training in Lithuania” (online)	20 June 2024
National Roundtable “Building a Roadmap to Strengthen Lithuania’s Evaluation and Quality Assurance Systems for VET and Higher Education” (Vilnius, Lithuania)	10 October 2024
Final conference “Enhancing the Quality of Vocational and Higher Education in Lithuania” (Vilnius, Lithuania)	10 April 2025

Individual and institutional interviews

Scoping interviews (7 November 2023)

On 7 November 2023, the OECD team travelled to Vilnius, Lithuania, to conduct scoping interviews with key stakeholders from the VET and higher education sectors, including labour market representatives. The purpose of these interviews was to:

• Understand in more depth the structure and functioning of (1) the policy framework and regulation governing the evaluation and quality assurance system for VET and higher education in Lithuania; (2) the mission, structure and core activities of the SKVC, KPMPC and the National Agency for Education, which are responsible for assuring the quality and labour market relevance of teaching and learning in VET and higher education; (3) institutional approaches to quality management, as they are carried out by VET school and higher education institutions; and (4) the institutional support landscape in Lithuania to help build the capacity of VET providers and HEIs.

• Collect feedback from key stakeholders from the VET and higher education sectors in Lithuania on the objectives and desired outcomes of the project.

• Identify key challenges and priorities that should inform the further development of the project.

Table A.2 presents an overview of the organisations the OECD team met with in Vilnius. The Ministry of Education, Science and Sports offered their facilities for conducting the scoping interviews.

Table A.2. Schedule scoping interviews (7 November 2023)

Time	Organisation
08:30 – 09:20	Interview 1: Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM)
09:20 – 10:10	Interview 2: Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC)
10:10 – 11:00	Interview 3: Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC)
11:00 – 11:15	Comfort break
11:15 – 12:15	Interview 4: Association of Lithuanian Vocational Schools
12:15 - 13:30	Formal lunch between OECD team and representatives from Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM)
13:30 – 14:15	Interview 5: Lithuanian Business Confederation and Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists
14:15 – 15:00	Interview 6: National Agency for Education (NŠA)
15:00 – 15:15	Comfort break
15:15 – 16:15	Interview 7: Rectors’ Conference of Universities & Conference of College Directors
16:15 – 17:00	Interview 8: Lithuanian National Union of Students (LSS)

Site visits to VET providers and higher education institutions (26-29 March 2024)

From 26-29 March 2024, the OECD team carried out site visits to a sample of VET and higher education institutions in Lithuania, in close co-operation with representatives from the ŠMSM. The purpose of these visits was to help the OECD team:

• Understand in more depth the views and experiences of HEIs and VET providers regarding: 1) the impact and effectiveness of government regulation on ensuring the quality and relevance of Lithuania’s post-compulsory education and training system; 2) how the quality assurance (QA) standards and practices of KPMPC and SKVC support (or hinder) institutions to develop their internal  QA systems; 3) the types of support considered helpful by higher education and VET institutions to help them build their capacity for institutional quality management and enhancing the quality and labour market relevance of their education and training provision; and 4) the coherence of the VET and higher education evaluation and QA system.

• Identify examples of best practice across higher education and VET institutions on how the quality and labour market relevance of teaching and learning can be effectively supported.

• Identify gaps across higher education and VET institutions in terms of how they are currently monitoring and/or supporting the quality of their provision, and what supports they might need.

Table A.3 presents an overview of the sixteen VET providers and HEIs that participated in the site visit programme organised. The selected sample of institutions was based on advice provided by the ŠMSM. In each institution, the OECD team met with an average of 20-25 stakeholders (administrators, students, teaching staff, and staff responsible for institutional quality management and support). In total, the OECD team consulted the views of almost 350 persons over the course of these visits.

Table A.3. Overview of VET providers and HEIs visited by OECD team

Institution	Date of visit	Status	Classification	Location	Approx. number of participants	Training profile
VET schools
Business and Hospitality Professional Career Centre	26 March 2024	Public	VET school	Vilnius	20-25	Specialised
Kaunas Food Industry and Trade Training Centre	26 March 2024	Public	VET school	Kaunas	20-25	Specialised
Vilnius Automechanics and Business School	27 March 2024	Public	VET school	Vilnius	20-25	Specialised
Kaunas Information Technology School	27 March 2024	Public	VET school	Kaunas	40-50	Specialised
Marijampolė Vocational Training Centre	28 March 2024	Public	VET school	Marijampolė	20-25	Comprehensive
Alytus Vocational Training Centre	28 March 2024	Public	VET school	Alytus	20-25	Comprehensive
Visaginas Technology and Business Vocational Training Centre	29 March 2024	Public	VET school	Visaginas	20-25	Specialised
Higher education institutions
Kaunas University of Technology	26 March 2024	Public	University	Kaunas	20-25	Specialised
Lithuanian University of Health Sciences	26 March 2024	Public	University	Kaunas	20-25	Specialised
Kaunas Technical College	27 March 2024	Public	College	Kaunas	20-25	Comprehensive
Kaunas Technical College	27 March 2024	Public	College	Kaunas	20-25	Specialised
ISM University	28 March 2024	Private	University	Vilnius	20-25	Specialised
Mykolaus Romeris University	28 March 2024	Public	University	Vilnius	20-25	Comprehensive
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University	29 March 2024	Public	University	Vilnius	20-25	Comprehensive
Vilnius College	29 March 2024	Public	College	Vilnius	20-25	Comprehensive

Table A.4 presents a template with sessions which institutions were asked to prepare for the OECD team’s visit to their institution. In function of each institution’s individual context and profile, some of the sessions proposed below were removed or replaced by other sessions or areas deemed to be most relevant by the institution and OECD team.

Table A.4. Agenda template for site visits to VET providers and HEIs in Lithuania

Session 1: Meeting with management of the institution responsible for designing the vision, mission and strategy
08:00 – 09:00 or 14:00 – 15:00	In this session, the OECD team would like to meet with the management of the institution to understand its vision, mission and strategy, as well as some of the key challenges observed in relation to ensuring the quality and labour market relevance of its provision. Stakeholders to attend: Rector (for HE) / Principal (for VET), any other staff responsible or involved in the design and implementation of the institution’s overall strategy and (quality) management system.
Session 2: Meeting with professional staff responsible for quality monitoring, evaluation and enhancement
09:00 – 10:00 or 15:00 - 16:00	In this session, the OECD team would like to meet with staff responsible for 1) monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching and learning across the institution, as well as 2) staff supporting students and instructors with teaching and learning (e.g. staff providing training or support to staff to enhance their teaching or assessment methods, or to design programmes; staff working in the student support office; etc.). Stakeholders to attend: Staff members of the office responsible for liaison with SKVC/KPMPC, carrying out institutional quality monitoring and assessment (e.g. carrying out or analysing student, staff or course satisfaction surveys), staff providing support to students/teachers with teaching, learning and assessment.
10:00 – 10:15 or 16:00 – 16:15	Break
Session 3: Meeting with instructors from a variety of disciplines
10:15 – 11:15 or 16:15 – 17:15	In this session, the OECD team would like to meet with a sample of 3-5 instructors from different disciplines to discuss how they design and review the courses they teach, and what support they might need. Stakeholders to attend: A sample of 3-5 instructors, ideally from a variety of disciplines. Representative of staff association in the institution (if it exists) could also participate in this session.
Session 4: Meeting with students from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds
11:15 – 12:00 or 17:15 – 18:00	In this session, the OECD team would like to meet with a sample of 3-5 students to hear their view on the quality of teaching and learning in their institution. Stakeholders to attend: A sample of 3-5 students, as well as a representative of the student representative office (if it exists).

Stakeholder consultation on draft roadmap (20 December 2024 – 17 January 2025)

Between 20 December 2024 and 17 January 2025, the OECD review team invited a sample of higher education and VET experts and key stakeholder organisations in Lithuania to anonymously review and comment on an internal Consultation Document “Roadmap for Lithuania to Strengthen the Evaluation and Quality Assurance Systems for Higher Education and VET in Lithuania”. The feedback received from stakeholders on this document has been used to refine the recommendations and roadmap included in this report. The instructions shared with the stakeholders are presented in Box A.1.

Box A.1. Instructions for stakeholder consultation

Dear Colleague,

You are invited by the OECD team to comment on a proposed roadmap for Lithuania to reform their VET and higher education quality assurance systems, developed as part of the project “LT23 – Strengthening the evaluation and quality assurance systems of higher education and vocational education and training in Lithuania”. This document is supplemented by a first draft of the project Final Report, submitted to you separately. This document offers the necessary context and background behind the different recommendations, action points and international examples proposed for Lithuania in this roadmap.

You are invited to leave written comments and track changes directly in this document, and send it back to the OECD team by Friday 17 January 2025, focusing especially on:

• The relevance of the proposed recommendations and, specifically, any recommendations or action points which you believe should become a key priority for the Lithuanian authorities in their upcoming governing period (from 2025 to 2028).

• The relevance and phrasing of the different recommendations and action points.

• The relevance of the proposed implementation steps and action points under the different recommendations (e.g. the suggested timing of actions for the next four years, the suggested stakeholders to lead or involve in the implementation of different recommendations, etc.).

• The relevance of the international examples selected for Lithuania.

We thank you for your ongoing support to this important project for Lithuania. Please note that your feedback will be treated fully confidentially by the OECD, and not be shared with anyone else.

Knowledge exchange events and activities

Public launch event (8 November 2023)

On 8 November 2023, the OECD team organised a public launch event, which had the objective to:

• Present the project’s objectives, methods and expected outcomes, and explain how stakeholders can get involved in the different project activities.

• Collect feedback from key stakeholders from the VET and higher education sectors in Lithuania on the objectives and desired outcomes of the project.

Table A.5 presents the agenda for the event, which was organised in person in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the ŠMSM. The event gathered around 40 participants in-person, and a further 100 online.

Table A.5. Agenda public launch event (8 November 2023)

09:00 – 09:30	Welcome coffee
09:30 – 09:45	Welcome Dr Agnė Kudarauskienė, Vice-Minister for VET and Lifelong Learning, Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, Lithuania Dr Justas Nugaras, Vice-Minister for Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, Lithuania Raluca Painter, Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), European Commission
Session 1: Project overview and objectives
09:45 – 10:00	Presentation: “Strengthening the system of evaluation and quality assurance of higher education and vocational education and training in Lithuania” François Staring (Analyst, Higher Education Policy Team, Directorate for Education and Skills) and Stewart Butler (Analyst, VET Team, Centre for Skills), OECD
10:00 – 10:15	Q&A
Session 2: Evaluation and Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training in Lithuania
10:15 – 10:30	Presentation: Enhancing the quality and labour market relevance of vocational education and training in Lithuania Tadas Tamošiūnas, Director, Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC)
10:30 – 11:00	Panel discussion and Q&A Nora Pileičikienė, Director, Karalius Mindaugas Vocational Training Centre Gintaras Vilda, CEO of Manufacturing Innovation Valley, Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists Marius Ablačinskas, VET expert and analyst Moderation: Malgorzata Kuczera, Analyst, VET Team, Centre for Skills (SKC), OECD
Session 3: Evaluation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Lithuania
11:00 – 11:15	Presentation: Enhancing the quality and labour market relevance of higher education in Lithuania Aurelija Valeikienė, Deputy Director, Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC)
11:15 – 11:45	Panel discussion and Q&A Paulius Vaitiekus, President, Lithuanian National Union of Students (LSS) Prof Dr Regina Valutyte, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Mykolas Riomeris University Dr Lina Tamutienė, Director, Šiauliai State College Ineta Rizgelė, Director-General, Lithuanian Business Confederation Moderation: Simon Roy, Senior Analyst, Higher Education Policy Team, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD
11:45 – 12:00	Closing Dr Agnė Kudarauskienė, Vice-Minister for VET and Lifelong Learning, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Lithuania Alexandra Serafim-Soares, Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM), European Commission Simon Roy, Senior Analyst, Higher Education Policy Team, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD
12:00 – 13:00	Informal networking lunch

National roundtable (25 March 2025)

On 25 March 2024, the OECD team organised a national roundtable which had the following objectives:

• Present initial findings from the OECD’s team’s analysis of Lithuania’s evaluation and QA system for VET and higher education to date.

• Collect feedback from key stakeholders on the OECD’s initial analysis and findings to date.

• Promote peer learning, discussion and reflection among policy makers, practitioners and other key stakeholders from VET and higher education in Lithuania on: 1) effective institutional practices for enhancing the quality and labour market relevance of teaching and learning; and 2) possible changes to be made to the existing regulation, evaluation and QA systems for VET and higher education, and what both systems (VET and higher education) could learn from one another.

Table A.6 presents the agenda of the national roundtable event, which was hosted by Vilnius University, and gathered more than 70 stakeholders from across the VET and higher education sectors in Lithuania.

Table A.6. Agenda national roundtable event (25 March 2024)

09:00 – 09:30	Welcome coffee
09:30 – 09:45	Opening Rimvydas Petrauskas, Rector of Vilnius University, Lithuania Agnė Kudarauskienė, Vice-Minister for VET and Lifelong Learning, ŠMSM, Lithuania Raluca Painter, Head of Unit B.4, DG REFORM, European Commission
Session 1: Key Policy Questions for the Quality Assurance of Post-Compulsory Education and Training in Lithuania
09:45 – 10:15	Presentation François Staring (Higher Education Policy Team, Directorate for Education and Skills) and Stewart Butler (VET Team, Centre for Skills), Analysts, OECD
Session 2: Best Practices and New Policies for the Quality Assurance of VET and Higher Education in Lithuania
10:15 – 10:45	Presentations Nora Pileičikienė, Director of Karalius Mindaugas VET Centre Paulius Čepas, Director of Kaunas Education Centre of Technologies (Kautech)	Presentations Regina Venckienė, Head of Study Quality Department, Vilnius College/Higher Education Institution Gražina Droessiger, Director, Academic Support Centre, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
10:45 – 11:30	Break-out discussion 1: Key challenges and best practices for internal QA in VET providers	Break-out discussion 1: Key challenges and best practices for international QA in HEIs
11:30 – 11:45	Comfort break
11:45 – 12:30	Break-out discussion 2: New policies for external evaluation and quality assurance in VET	Break-out discussion 2: New policies for external evaluation and external quality assurance in HE
12:30 – 13:30	Lunch
Session 3: Common Principles for the Quality Assurance of Post-Compulsory Education and Training in Lithuania
13:30 – 13:45	Plenary reporting from break-out discussions François Staring (Higher Education Policy Team, Directorate for Education and Skills) and Stewart Butler (VET Team, Centre for Skills), OECD
13:45 – 14:35	Break-out discussions: Common challenges and principles for evaluation and quality assurance of VET and higher education in Lithuania
14:35 – 14:45	Comfort break
14:45 – 15:30	Panel discussion: Where next with Quality Assurance of VET and Higher Education in Lithuania? Asta Ranonytė, Deputy Director, National Agency for Education (NŠA) Tadas Tamošiūnas, Director, Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC) Almantas Šerpatauskas, Director, Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC) Moderation: François Staring, Higher Education Policy Team, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD
15:30 – 15:45	Q&A
15:45 – 16:00	Closing Alexandra Serafim-Soares, Policy Officer, DG REFORM, European Commission François Staring, Higher Education Policy Team, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD

International peer-learning event (20 June 2024)

On 20 June 2024 the OECD team organised an online international peer-learning event for Lithuania, including presentations and discussions with invited experts from leading quality assurance agencies and international experts on five key questions:

1. To what extent and how can ex-ante evaluation and accreditation be used as a mechanism to assess student demand for and the labour market relevance of new programmes and providers?

2. How can the standards, methods and procedures for the periodic review of institutions be enhanced to strengthen their overall relevance and impact on institutional quality enhancement?

3. To what extent and how can quantitative indicators be embedded in quality assurance?

4. What are options for strengthening institutional collaboration and support for teaching and learning enhancement and pedagogical innovation?

5. What are common challenges and best practices across VET and higher education quality assurance, as well as possibilities for greater synergy and collaboration across the two sectors?

Table A.7 presents the agenda for an international peer learning event that took place online on enhancing the quality and coherence of post-compulsory education and training in Lithuania.

Table A.7. Agenda online international peer-learning event (20 June 2024)

13:00 – 13:15	Opening François Staring, Directorate for Education, OECD Agnė Kudarauskienė, Vice-Minister for VET and Lifelong learning, ŠMSM, Lithuania Justas Nugaras, Vice-Minister of Higher Education, ŠMSM, Lithuania Alexandra Serafim-Soares, Policy Officer, DG REFORM, European Commission
Session 1: Strengthening External Quality Assurance and Enhancement of VET and Higher Education in Lithuania
	Break-out session 1: VET	Break-out session 2: Higher Education
13:15-13:30	International trends in the quality assurance of VET Simon Broek, International VET Expert and Director at Ockham IPS	International trends in higher education quality assurance Christopher Millward, Professor of Practice in Education Policy, University of Birmingham
13:30-13:40	Q&A	Q&A
13:40-14:25	1a: Enhancing the impact and relevance of external evaluation and accreditation
	Key lessons from peer countries Torben Schuster, Ensuring labour market relevance, UVM (Denmark) Marie Gould, External Quality Assurance of VET, QQI (Ireland) Ognjen Piljek Žiljak, Quality Assurance of VET in Croatia, ASOO (Croatia)		Key lessons from peer countries Fenno Noij, Planning Higher Education in the Netherlands, CDHO (Netherlands) Philipp Emanuel Friedrich, A Next Generation of Institutional Reviews, NOKUT (Norway) Christopher Millward, Lessons from Risk-Based Quality Monitoring in England, England (UK)
14:25-14:55	Reflections from Lithuania and Q&A	Reflections from Lithuania and Q&A
14:55-15:20	1b: Developing an ecosystem for teaching and learning enhancement
	Key lessons from peer countries Tommy E. Hvidsten, Driving Outstanding Quality in VET, Centre for Experiential Learning (Norway) Rob van Wezel, Quality in work-based learning, SBB (Netherlands)	Key lessons from peer countries Kathryn O’Lean, Collaborative Enhancement across Tertiary Education, QAA Scotland (UK) Reinout van Brakel, Pedagogical Enhancement through Bottom-Up Collaboration, Universities of the Netherlands (Netherlands)
15:20-15:35	Q&A	Q&A
15:35-15:45	Break
Session 2: Strengthening Synergies between VET and Higher Education Quality Assurance in Lithuania
15:45 – 16:10	Key lessons from peer countries Kirsi Hiltunen, Synergies between VET and Higher Education Quality Assurance, FINEEC (Finland) Marie Gould, Enhancing Collaboration and Pathways between VET and Higher Education, QQI (Ireland)
16:10 – 16:40	Reflections from Lithuania and Q&A Tadas Tamošiūnas (Director, KPMPC) & Almantas Šerpatauskas (Director, SKVC) Moderator: Christopher Millward, University of Birmingham
16:40 – 16:45	Closing François Staring & Stewart Butler, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD

National roundtable (10 October 2024)

On 10 October 2024 the OECD team organised a national roundtable event to discuss and agree with key stakeholders from the VET and higher education sectors in Lithuania on the key building blocks of a “Roadmap to reform Lithuania’s evaluation and assurance systems for VET and higher education”. In particular, the project team sought inputs on:

• The building blocks of the roadmap: In the diagnosis and options presented by the OECD team, which are the most important aspects Lithuania should focus on in the coming years? Are there any elements in the OECD’s analysis and recommendations that are missing or need refining?

• Proposals for implementing the roadmap: What are key steps to implement the different strands of the roadmap? Who should be the actors leading the implementation of different initiatives, and how should institutions from the VET and higher education sectors themselves be involved?

Table A.8 presents the agenda for the workshop, which was hosted by the Vilnius School of Automechanics (VAVM), and gathered more than 70 participants from the VET and higher education sectors in Lithuania.

Table A.8. Agenda stakeholder consultation workshop (10 October 2024)

09:00 – 09:30	Welcome coffee
09:30 – 10:00	Opening Elena Pelakauskienė, Director of VAVM  Agnė Kudarauskienė, Vice-Minister for VET and Lifelong learning  Alexandra Serafim-Soares, Policy Officer, DG REFORM, European Commission  François Staring and Stewart Butler, Analysts, OECD
Session 1: Reorienting quality assurance procedures to support enhancement and labour market relevance
10:00-10:30	In this session, the OECD will present key findings from its analysis of SKVC and KPMPC’s quality assurance standards and procedures, and how these support (or hinder) the quality enhancement and labour market relevance of teaching and learning. Concrete recommendations and options to strengthen KPMPC and SKVC’s mission, functions and procedures will be proposed and discussed. [Separate VET and higher education sessions]
11:30-11:45	Comfort break
Session 2: Strengthening the use of data and indicators in quality assurance
11:45 – 12:30	In this session, the OECD will present options on how SKVC and KPMPC can strengthen their use of data and indicators in quality assurance and monitoring activities. [Separate VET and higher education sessions]
12:30 – 13:30	Lunch
Session 3: Common Principles for the Quality Assurance of Post-Compulsory Education and Training in Lithuania
13:30 – 14:45	Building on the discussion in sessions 1 and 2, the OECD will present concrete options on how SKVC and KPMPC might strengthen collaboration around shared, system-level challenges facing the VET and higher education sectors (i.e. in particular: skills alignment and promoting equity and inclusion). Concrete options will also be proposed on how system-level evaluation and data use can be strengthened to inform policy planning and provide information to students and employers. [Joint session]
14:35 – 14:45	Break
Session 4: Promoting institution-level collaboration between employers, VET and higher education providers
15:00-16:00	In this session, the OECD will present key challenges facing VET and higher education providers to engage in pedagogical enhancement, collaboration (with employers) and innovation more broadly. Concrete recommendations and options on how Lithuania can create an enabling environment for VET and higher education providers and teaching staff to engage in pedagogical competence development, programme innovation, labour market alignment and improve learner pathways across VET and higher education will be proposed and discussed. [Joint session]
15:30 – 15:45	Closing François Staring and Stewart Butler, Analysts, OECD

Final conference (10 April 2025)

On 10 April 2025 the OECD team organised a final conference to share and widely disseminate the project findings and recommendations with the higher education and VET sectors in Lithuania and discuss concrete steps on how different stakeholders in Lithuania can implement the project recommendations over the coming years.

Table A.9 presents the agenda for the conference, which was organised at Pirklių Klubas in Vilnius, and gathered more than 70 participants from the VET and higher education sectors in Lithuania, including several online participants.

Table A.9. Agenda final conference (10 April 2025)

09:30 – 10:00	Welcome coffee
10:00 – 10:20	Opening Regina Valutyte, Vice-Minister for Higher Education, ŠMSM Rolandas Zuoza, Vice-Minister for VET and Lifelong Learning, ŠMSM Judit Rosza, Director, SG REFORM, European Commisssion (video message) Andreas Schleicher, Director, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD (online)
10:20 – 10:45	Presentation Ensuring Quality Vocational and Higher Education in Lithuania: presentation of the project’s results François Staring, Analyst, Higher Education Policy, OECD Stewart Butler, Analyst, VET Team, OECD
Session 1: Strengthening the System of External Evaluation and Quality Assurance for VET and Higher Education in Lithuania
10:45 – 11:30	Panel discussion Zinaida Manžuch, Director, Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC) Tadas Tamošiūnas, Director, Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC) Nora Pileičikienė, Director, Karalius Mindaugas Vocational Training Centre Valdas Jaskunas, Vice Rector, Vilnius University Paulius Vaitiekus, President, Lithuanian Union of Students (LSS) Moderation: Simon Roy, Team Lead, Higher Education Policy, OECD
Session 2: Building an Ecosystem for Pedagogical Enhancement, Innovation and Skills Development in Lithuanian VET and Higher Education
11:30 – 11:45	Reflections from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM) Presentation by the ŠMSM’s Divisions for Higher Education and VET/Lifelong Learning on concrete actions they are planning to create an ecosystem to foster teaching excellence, innovation and to align VET and higher education with the skills needed by the economy and society. Julius Jakucinskas, Director, VET and Lifelong Learning Division, Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM) Giedre Pacesiene, Head of Division, Higher Education Division, Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM)
11:45 – 12:00	Q&A with audience
12:00	Closing Alexandra Serafim-Soares, Policy Officer, SG REFORM, European Commission Simon Roy, Team Lead, Higher Education Policy, OECD
12:00 – 13:30	Lunch