Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher Education in Central Asia Blog (est. 2011)

  • New article: Negotiating international research collaborations in Tajikistan

    Hot off the online press! International research collaborations – whether these are informal groupings of researchers working together on a scientific problem of common interest or more formal arrangements (often with a budget and fixed timelines) – have increased so rapidly in number that one expert has called this growth “one of the most dramatic… Read more

  • More changes at the top of Uzbekistan’s universities

    Following the firing of the Rector of Tashkent’s ‘most corrupt university’ in August 2019, another university leader has been shown the door. Rector Bahodyr Khodiev of Tashkent State University of Economics (TSUE) was suspended in November 2019 on the grounds of corruption. Details of Khodiev’s alleged activities have not been made public, but this very… Read more

  • To merge, or not to merge… But is that the question in Kazakhstan?

    On the back of recent news that a number of universities in Kazakhstan are to be reorganized and some merged, rumours are now spreading that at least one of the proposed mergers will not in fact go ahead. According to Dilara Aronova, a journalist for northern Kazakhstan’s regional news outlet Kostanay News, social media has… Read more

  • Stocks and shares but not for sale – More reorganization in Kazakhstan’s universities

    The Kazakh government has typically paid a very active role in the organization and governance of higher education in the country. Over time the particular policy instruments du jour have changed depending on the main aim being pursued by the state. Of late, there has been an uptick in the number of university mergers as well as the… Read more

  • Uzbekistan: A breathtaking shift from autocracy to an open HE system

    My latest piece for University World News, a global online publication for anyone with a passing interest in higher education, was published on October 19. I wanted to bring UWN’s readership up to date with recent developments in Uzbekistan, which have been taking place at breakneck speed over the past couple of years. Please find… Read more

  • Supporting female students in Tajikistan

    Female students in Tajikistan are to get a boost from the new Intellect centre at Khorog State University. Opened with a US$40k grant from the World Bank/Ministry of Education, the centre aims to support women’s learning by improving their living and studying conditions as well as their academic preparation. Female students from all regions of Tajikistan living… Read more