Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • Privatizing Kazakhstan’s universities

    Kazakhstan has embraced private ownership of higher education and many other sectors since it became an independent state following the fall of the Soviet Union. This initially stemmed from the economic turmoil of the early and mid-1990s that led to a need to diversify what had once been a totally state owned and funded higher… Read more

  • Uzbek-Tajik higher education relations are warming up

    The honeymoon period of Uzbekistan’s now not-so-new President Mirziyoyev just keeps on going. Even hardened critics of what was once a solidly authoritarian regime in Uzbekistan are having to admit that the reform-driven new leader, who took the reins after the death of longstanding President Karimov following his death in December 2016, may be serious… Read more

  • Uzbekistan releases first university ranking

    Five years after the government resolved to introduce a national university ranking, Uzbekistan’s first domestic higher education league table was announced in July 2018 [ru]. 23 indicators were used to assess state-funded universities and institutes. These covered students’ learning outcomes, curriculum quality, faculty composition, research activity and classroom and ICT resources. All 57 public higher education… Read more

  • Chinese corporate social responsibility in Tajikistan, or, How to build a school for free

    The might of Chinese businesses operating in Tajikistan is growing, with news emerging of one company alone that will build three new schools in the country [ru] later this year, supporting over 1,000 students. This is not the first such initiative, which is being posited as evidence of Chinese corporate social responsibility. Other road-building companies have already financed… Read more

  • New publication: Scientific nationalism in a globalizing world

    After a break from blogging to attend the recent and quite fantastic World Cup in Russia, I’m back with the good news that I have a new publication out. This is a book chapter co-written with my supervisor Professor Creso Sá and is titled Scientific nationalism in a globalizing world. It’s part of a hefty new Handbook… Read more

  • Ranking corruption in Kazakh universities

    A recurring theme for higher education in Central Asia is corruption. A quick search of my blog turns up story after story that I’ve written on this topic and that would only be scratching the surface. I know this is not only a problem for Central Asia, or even the broader former Soviet space. Just this… Read more