The two-day meet gathered top officials from AQAN member institutions, the ASEAN University Network (AUN), SEAMEO RIHED, and national QA agencies across the region. The event served as a key platform for dialogue and collaboration toward a shared vision of trust, quality, and excellence in higher education.

CHED Chairperson Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis led the opening session, calling on ASEAN universities to rethink quality assurance as “a system of trust,” not just a tool for evaluation. “Trust in the competence of every graduate, trust in the integrity of every institution, and trust in the region’s collective progress,” Agrupis said.

She urged higher education leaders to tap ASEAN QA assessors as innovators and catalysts, not mere evaluators, and to transform QA work from compliance into connection—linking education with industry, people with systems, and national efforts with ASEAN goals.

“Excellence should not exclude,” Agrupis said, stressing that no institution must be left behind as ASEAN builds a borderless and future-ready higher education landscape.

A highlight of the forum was the leadership turnover ceremony. Outgoing AQAN President Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mohammad Shatar Sabran, CEO of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, shared key milestones and lessons from his 2020–2025 term. He passed the torch to Dr. Milabel E. Ho, Executive Director of AACCUP, who now leads AQAN with a vision rooted in unity and transformation.

In her acceptance message, Ho unveiled the RISE 2028 Framework—focusing on Regional Integration, Innovation, Sustainability, and Empowerment. She called on QA leaders to act as “co-architects” of this vision, urging them to build bridges, not silos, and to lead with openness and courage.

“AQAN thrives on collaboration,” Ho said. “The future of quality assurance in ASEAN depends on shared purpose and collective action.”