Rihards Blese

Background

About Rihards Blese

Rihards Blese is an Advisor on International and EU policy at the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia (LDDK). He has higher education in political science and has spent an exchange semester in Charles University in Prague. Previous work experience of Rihards include the position of assistant project manager in Higher Education Council during the assessment of all higher education study programmes in Latvia between 2012 and 2013. Rihards has held a position of project expert in Academic Information Centre between 2013 and 2015 while working on the improvement of the Latvian qualifications framework. Between 2015 and 2017 he participated in creation of a new quality assurance agency – Higher Education Quality Agency (AIKA). In parallel with his work at the Academic Information Center, Rihards has been involved in a project that coordinated change in the legislation of recognition of prior learning in higher education implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science. Recently Rihards worked as a project manager and consultant at SIA Dynamic University and his duties included strategic consultations to universities and municipalities in the field of education policy and projects. Before starting a professional career Rihards was active in student representation both in his university and on the national level, including managing a Youth in action project to link higher education content with labor market requirements as well as participating as an expert in quality assurance procedures in Latvia and abroad. He is a founder of the University of Latvia Alumni Club. Rihards research interests includes policy transfer in higher education, development of qualifications frameworks, quality assurance in higher education, university and business cooperation.