Speaker information
Chris Lyons
Head of External Engagement
Chris has been at UK ENIC (formerly UK NARIC) since 2007. As head of engagement since March 2020, his role centres on explaining and promoting UK ENIC’s work; exploring how the national agency and its services may provide appropriate solutions; and listening to needs and challenges faced of members and non-members across the education sector.
He chairs the UK ENIC Quality & Standards Group whose sectoral membership provides oversight of UK ENIC services. He also has responsibility for the oversight and communication of methodological processes.
Chris was previously Head of Research and Data Group for five years, where he oversaw the development of grade comparisons, TNE profiles and studies such as International Entry Qualifications. He has also worked in the International Projects Group where he was lead researcher on a number of significant international secondary school benchmarking studies.
Speaker presentations
Date: 11.11
Time:
12:00 – 13:00
Nur-Sultan time
Keynote speech
Qualifications, International Recognition and Pathways to Success
In this session, Chris Lyons will discuss the important role that UK ENIC plays in evaluating and recognising international qualifications within the community of national recognition centres and across the global education sector.
The presentation will consider the origins and purpose of recognition centres, the principles that govern evaluation and recognition processes and an overview of international conventions and agreements, including the Lisbon Recognition Convention, which underpin recognition work, focus on commonly held standards and encourage consistency of practice.
Lisbon is underpinned by pillars of fairness and transparency, and Chris will consider how significant these objectives are when applied to evaluating qualifications. At heart, a principled approach to recognition gives qualifications ‘currency’, improves global understanding of how awards work and can be understood and ultimately how this process empowers the learner and holder of the qualification.
A recognised qualification is one that is portable, that opens the doors of opportunity and facilitates the international mobility of students, professionals and populations. Recognition offers a pathway of potential to success.
Using his 14 years of experience at UK ENIC / Ecctis Ltd working with qualifications, Chris Lyons refers to some of the organisation’s evaluation and benchmarking studies that have been conducted over the years. This focuses on the research outputs of studies on qualifications, including the 2018 report on the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools Grade 12 Certificate.
Consideration will be given to the benchmarking process and the methods applied to evaluate the qualification. In reflecting on the outcomes of the study, the session will demonstrate the benefits that enhanced recognition can provide, including that experienced by the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and the students that graduate from them.