The implementation of European Standards for accreditation of engineering programmes in Russia

The paper presents the recent developments of Russian higher education in view of implementation of the key aspects of the Bologna process. The problems of Russian higher education and the process of modernizing the system of higher education over the past fifteen years are highlighted. The recent legislative initiatives aimed at reforming the national system of higher education in accordance with the main principles of the Bologna process are presented. The issues of quality assurance, in particular, the interaction of governmental (institutional) and professional (programme) accreditation are discussed. The development of the national system for professional accreditation in engineering education is described. The Russian Association for Engineering Education (RAEE) actively participates in implementation of the EUR-ACE Standards for accrediting of engineering programmes as a member of the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE). The progress and the issues of implementation of EUR-ACE standards in Russia are discussed.