Individual Consultant - Study on Recognition and QA of Micro‑credentials in Asia‑Pacific

JOB DETAILS

Type of contract : Consultant Contract (Author)

Level : Level 3- Senior

Hiring Unit : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station : Bangkok

Work location : Remote

Duration of contract : 9 months

Hiring open to : External candidates

Application deadline (Midnight UTC+7 Time) : 15-MAR-2026

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

1. Background

Across the world and in Asia and the Pacific, micro credentials are emerging as a key instrument to support flexible lifelong learning and cross-border mobility. However, their recognition, quality assurance, and integration within National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) and Regional Qualifications Frameworks (RQFs) remain uneven across countries. UNESCO has proposed a common definition of micro-credentials as a foundation for recognition and portability of micro-credentials.

The Asia Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education (Tokyo Convention) and the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education (Global Convention) promote fair recognition of qualifications, including of partial studies and learning acquired through non traditional modes, offering a normative basis to extend cross-border recognition of Micro-credentials. Amid the exponential growth in use of micro-credentials for learning and professional development especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, UNESCO has also conducted studies on use cases of micro-credentials in selected Asia-Pacific countries to inform transformation of higher education systems.

Meanwhile, regional organisations such as ASEAN, the Pacific Community and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Organisation (APEC) developed sub-regional qualifications frameworks, guidelines and studies to inform regional comparability mechanisms to improve transparency and mobility. Despite