Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • Educating Central Asia, From Soviet Collapse to COVID-19 – Interview with The Diplomat

    I recently teamed up with Vasila Bozichaeva, higher education researcher and PhD candidate at the Academy of Sciences in Tajikistan to do an interview with The Diplomat on education in Central Asia. In the interview, we cover everything from the idea of a university in Soviet times to how Tajikistan’s education system is coping with… Read more

  • The next phase

    Welcome to my newly refreshed website, complete with a new background image of the beautiful Badakhshan mountains. I took the photo on a helicopter ride from Dushanbe to Khorog in Tajikistan during my PhD fieldwork in 2017. The site now also features a new Watch/Listen page with video and audio recordings of talks and events… Read more

  • Join me live on Oct 1: Surviving a crisis: Resilience, adaptation, and transformation in higher education after the collapse of the Soviet Union

    Updated Dec 2020: You can now watch a video of the seminar. I’m giving a seminar on October 1 (9am Eastern, 2pm UK, 6pm Dushanbe) about my recently completed doctoral work and would love to see you there. It’s being hosted by the Centre for Global Higher Education, an international research centre with hubs at… Read more

  • Nine years of blogging later…

    I started this blog back in September 2011 after completing my Master’s degree and having had the chance to write my final report about a subject you all now know I hold dear: higher education in Central Asia. To begin with, the blog served partly as a personal library, a place to store interesting stories… Read more

  • Making it easier for international students to work in Russia

    New regulations in Russia are making it easier for international students to work whilst studying Read more

  • Back to school in Central Asia

    The impending start of the 2020/21 school year is presenting challenges for teachers, students, parents, and governments around the world. Although some countries have managed to come up with a plan, many are still fumbling in the COVID-19 induced darkness, even with September just around the corner. Here’s a round up of where things stand… Read more