HELHa in Montreal for the international forum on quality in Higher Education

From October 22 to 24, a HELHa delegation attended the G3-Quality Conference in Montreal. 

The event brought together experts from Switzerland, Canada, and Belgium to discuss shared challenges related to governance and quality culture. Organized by the G3 consortium, which brings together the Université libre de Bruxelles, the Université de Montréal, and the Université de Genève, the conference has become a key forum for exchange and collaboration among French-speaking higher education institutions. 

This year, the participation of Senegal further broadened the international reach of the initiative. The 2025 edition focused on “Quality organization and governance: from strategy to building a quality-driven culture.”

HELHa’s active role 

HELHa was represented by Bertrand Bielande, Quality Coordinator, and Mathilde Fraipont Feron, Chief of staff to the President’s office. 

Their involvement provided an opportunity to share best practices, discuss quality management models, and discover innovative approaches implemented in other institutions.  Meetings with Canadian colleagues helped strengthen existing ties and opened the door to new collaborations. 

Reflecting on HELHa’s internal practices 

Throughout the conference, presentations and discussions fueled collective thinking about HELHa’s internal processes. These exchanges allowed us to compare our tools with those used by other French-speaking institutions and identify several areas for improvement. 

“In just a few days, I really gained a better understanding of the mechanisms in place at each university, especially at Canadian universities, which are10 years ahead of us. They enlightened me on the challenges we will soon be facing,” explained Mathilde Fraipont Feron. 

“The conference, among other topics, addressed the role of AI in day-to-day quality management. It will definitely be a facilitating tool,” added Bertrand Bielande. 

More than ever, HELHa shares a strong conviction: quality is not just an institutional requirement, it is a true driver of sustainable transformation.
The team returned motivated and inspired, determined to keep building a dynamic, shared quality culture within HELHa. 

“There is no better place to network with Belgium than abroad. And with the upcoming reform of quality management in Belgian higher education, the exchanges of perspectives were all quite rich and important” concludes Mathilde Fraipont Feron, Director of the Office of the President.  

👉Learn more about the G3-Quality Conference 2025