Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher Education in Central Asia Blog (est. 2011)

  • First Central Asian branch campus to open – and why diversity in higher education matters

    It was perhaps only a matter of time before the rapid internationalization* of higher education in Central Asia made its ways outside the region’s borders, moving away from the current focus on internationalization within the region. There are examples of internationalization reaching Central Asia littered all over the place. Here are just a few to illustrate the… Read more

  • The policy challenges of creating a world-class university outside the global ‘core’

    In print at last! My latest article –  The policy challenges of creating a world-class university outside the global ‘core’ – which was published online in March, has finally found a home in a print edition of the journal it is published in. (There is usually a lag because publishers do their best to get online… Read more

  • Fast facts on Central Asian higher education

    I was asked recently to give an overview of Central Asia’s higher education systems to a group of people who know a lot about higher education but less about the Central Asian context. This was a great task. It really got me thinking about what someone would need to know in order to get a sense… Read more

  • Want a PhD in Tajikistan? Then learn English or Russian

    The sages at the Ministry of Education in Tajikistan have decided that PhD candidates in the country should defend their theses in Russian or English [ru]. No official justification has been given for this November 8 announcement by Minister of Education Nuriddin Said. The only exception would be for theses relating to ethnic and national issues,… Read more

  • Controlling Central Asian “terrorism” and “religious extremism”

    Earlier this week, Central Asia had a rare but inglorious moment in the news headlines after an Uzbek born man was found to be behind an attempt at a “terror” attack in New York City. For those unfamiliar with the region or with the complexities of global religious extremism, this event was quickly reduced to… Read more

  • A visual tour of Central Asia’s universities

    I’ve had a small gallery of my pictures of Central Asia’s universities up on this site for a while, and have been meaning to update it after taking lots more photos this summer. So here we are, for your viewing pleasure (well, mainly for mine), here is a new and updated gallery showcasing just a… Read more