Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • Distance education in Central Asia: What have we learned?

    Over the course of the past few years, I’ve had the privilege to be involved with a cross-national research project studying the impact of distance education on educational access and quality in Central Asia. This highly topical research was conceived during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when students, educators, families, and politicians alike Read more

  • New year, new you? New departments for innovation and education in Tajikistan

    A relatively regular occurrence in Central Asia is the top-down hiring and firing of ministers and senior civil servants (I’ve lost count of how many Ministers of Education there have been in Kyrgyzstan, but then again, the country’s also had its fair share of revolutions and government change, so the added frisson is somewhat specific). Read more

  • A palace of knowledge – Tajikistan’s Academy of Sciences that never was

    Happy new year to you all! Kicking off my 13th year of blogging, as-independent-as-they-get Tajik newspaper Asia-Plus has a lovely photo story from the archives that I just had to share (and give you a reason to read to the end). It showcases a series of designs by architect Hikmat Yuldashev for the newly minted Read more

  • Current and future trends in higher education in Central Asia

    Want to know what’s happening in higher education enrolment in Central Asia, and how that compares to the world average? Curious to know which system in the region has reached one million students in higher education? How are universities and governments aiming to enhance research capacity in higher education? Do you know how many students Read more

  • Where have all the students gone? Declining interest in higher education in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

    Despite rapidly growing eligible populations and an expanding higher education base, there are indications of declining interest in university study in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan’s population currently stands at 6.7 million, of whom 35% are aged 14-35. Most of this youth population lives in the capital Bishkek or second largest city, Osh. Over in Tajikistan, Read more

  • Higher education internationalization in Uzbekistan and Central Asia

    In May 2023 I had the privilege to speak at a conference organized by Tashkent State University of Economics (TSUE) in Uzbekistan. The conference was opened by the Minister of Higher Education and TSUE’s Rector, with an interesting line-up of international speakers who shared research and ideas on the broad topic of educational quality. I Read more