Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • From Afghanistan to Kyrgyzstan: Supporting higher education across borders

    From journalist Bermet Talant at EurasiaNet comes an uplifting story showcasing higher education as it could be: rising above the day-to-day to support students, setting aside financial concerns and overcoming national boundaries. Read the report below. Talant recounts how 180 students made their way out of the precarious conditions in Afghanistan following the country’s takeover… Read more

  • The next ten years in Central Asian higher education: Looking to the future after a decade of blogging

    Somehow, the tenth anniversary of this blog has rolled around. From my very first post published on 30 September 2011, I’ve published 345 posts, averaging around three posts a month. In total, I’ve shared over 200,000 words, and in my most wordy year (2012) I produced almost 32,000 words across 46 posts. WordPress tells me… Read more

  • International students can return to Russia

    After partially reopening its borders to international students in March 2021, the Russian government announced in September that all international students can return – or come for the first time – to study in the country. This applies to students from countries where there are still no direct flights to Russia, and also to those… Read more

  • Knowledge production in post-Soviet Central Asia / Производство знаний в постсоветкстой Центральной Азии

    Here’s a very nice (Russian language) summary of a recent (English language) seminar given by Professor Sarfaroz Niyozov of the University of Toronto, Canada on knowledge production in Tajikistan. Niyozov draws on global discourses of decolonization, recolonization and indigenization as they might pertain to the contemporary Central Asian context. You can also watch the seminar… Read more

  • Vaccinated students rewarded with tuition discounts, free courses and more

    Students in Kazakhstan are being incentivized to get their Covid vaccines. Vaccinated students will be able to get discounts on their tuition fees, priority for student housing, transport vouchers, and – the ultimate student incentive – free food. At some universities, students can also get free access to a range of sporting and cultural activities.… Read more

  • Creating a Central Asian Higher Education Area

    Big and exciting news in the world of higher education in Central Asia: a Central Asian Higher Education Area is finally on the cards. The plans have been formalized and signed by the five countries’ Ministers of Education in the Turkestan Declaration signed in June 2021. When it comes to higher education, the Central Asian… Read more