Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher Education in Central Asia Blog (est. 2011)

  • One of The Guardian’s top blogs

    Irreverent, funny and informative – higher education does the internet really well. So says The Guardian’s Higher Education Network, which has today named my blog as one of its favourite social media accounts: http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/mar/23/follow-the-leaders-the-best-social-media-accounts-for-academics. What an excitement and a privilege, particularly looking at who else is featured on their list! Many thanks to The Guardian for this recognition, and for… Read more

  • The top 10 ranking no university wants to join

    Another week, another university league table? Are you getting bored of Buzzfeed-esque listicles? Are you tired of listening to yet another Vice-Chancellor/Provost tell you how well their university has performed in the latest round of classifications? Then how about this: here’s a league table that I guarantee no university would want to join. I can promise you that you wouldn’t… Read more

  • It’s not all about the money – making academia more attractive in Kyrgyzstan

    Academics working in one of Kyrgyzstan’s many state funded universities get a bonus in their monthly pay packet if they have a higher degree of Candidate of Sciences or Doctor of Sciences. Quick contextual note: Kyrgyzstan still follows the Soviet system (which itself is heavily influenced by the German higher education model) of awarding two doctoral-type… Read more

  • University of Central Asia ready for students – at last!

    After over 15 years in the making, I’m delighted to learn that the University of Central Asia (UCA) is finally ready to admit it first degree-level students for undergraduate courses at the Naryn campus in the Kyrgyz Republic this September. UCA’s recent news release further hints that the Khorog campus in Tajikistan will be operational… Read more

  • Central Asia in 2016 – part 3

    Today I continue the Central Asia prognosis for 2016 with a preview of a new project I’m initiating this year on higher education in Central Asia. Do please also check out part 1 on a Kazakh take on the regional outlook and part 2 on Tajikistan’s seemingly bleak prospects. I’m excited to announce that later this year, I will launch a new… Read more

  • Central Asia in 2016 – part 2

    This mini-series on the year ahead for Central Asia was kicked off with a global analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing the region by Kazakh thinktank Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan (KazISS) and was inspired by two early January stories on the broader future for Central Asia. This second part draws on… Read more