Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • President for life is a step too far

    I tried not to write about this. I really did. Although some of my posts have a political edge to them, I have endeavoured to keep this focussed on the impact for higher education and society in Central Asia. My aim is to keep positive, to look for ways that higher education can be improved… Read more

  • Kyrgyz students 2015 – who, what, where

    This is a wonderful infographic from Sputnik, a Russia media agency that set up shop in Kyrgyzstan last year. Produced recently for International Day of Students, the original article is here. For me, the most interesting stories are: The mismatch between the funding that the state is making available to students, and the courses they want… Read more

  • Does research always have to be targeted towards economic benefit?

    If you are a developing Asian state, the answer apparently seems to be ‘yes’. This has been suggested as a strategy for Asian countries in achieving their research and development goals. Resources for scientific research, whether undertaken in universities or in the private sector, should be carefully allocated and targeted towards specific areas for priority development.… Read more

  • Beaten up for asking questions at university in Tajikistan

    There’s a sad and disturbing story from Tajik news agency Asia Plus today about the recent beating of a university student by classmates [ru] at the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University (RTSU). The student, who comes from the Penjikent region of northern Tajikistan, was hospitalized, so severe was the beating by three fellow students who come from the capital… Read more

  • QS University Rankings – Emerging Europe and Central Asia 2015 out today

    University rankings are a real buzz area in higher education at the moment, with universities clamouring to move into the top X, governments giving extra funding to support universities that they feel can achieve this mission and enhance the country’s prestige, and students and researchers using the outcomes of rankings exercises to shape their choices and opinions about… Read more

  • If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em – Kyrgyzstan shapes its online presence

    This is an interesting story from reliable Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg on how the state is employing its expertise to create an alternative space in the Western dominated internet. Ostensibly a factual account of the Ministry of Education’s input into developing Kyrgyz language information on Wikipedia and Google Translate, it could equally be argued that this has deeper implication for the… Read more