Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher Education in Central Asia Blog (est. 2011)

  • 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

  • Hunger And Eviction: Money Woes Send Turkmen Students Abroad Scrambling (Repost from RFE/RL)

    Not much is written about higher education in Turkmenistan. Its education system, like much else in the country, is generally closed off to the outside world. The only news that tends to get out is when some high cost project is launched (see e.g. British tabloid The Express on the opening of a new airport… Read more

  • Uzbek university leader makes fresh appeal for civil rights to be restored after fighting unjust dismissal for over a decade

    Imagine you were unjustly accused of massive corruption and fired from your job. It’s an indignity. But then imagine that you’ve been fighting for well over a decade in no fewer than 14 courts to clear your name, each time with an unsatisfactory ending – or simply no real conclusion at all. During that time,… Read more