Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher education in Central Asia blog

  • Rolling back privatization in Kazakhstan’s higher education?

    Kazakhstan has energetically pursued privatization ever since emerging from the Soviet era some three decades ago. In higher education, this trend towards privatization has long been evident. Marketization has long been a feature of higher education in Kazakhstan. For example, the adoption of the 1995 law ‘On Privatization’, which came into effect two years later,… Read more

  • China and Russia’s higher education ambitions for Eurasia, and Central Asian responses (new publication)

    For my first blog post of 2021, I’m very pleased to share a new peer-reviewed journal article. It explores China and Russia’s efforts to construct a higher education region in Eurasia and also examines the responses of policymakers in Central Asia to these initiatives. The abstract (summary) is below, along with a link to obtain… Read more

  • Wrapping up 2020

    Wrapping up 2020

    Well. It’s been quite the year. It’s hard to know where or how to start what would typically be my annual recap post. There’s both too much and not enough to say, whether it’s on higher education in Central Asia, on the injustices and inequalities that have been brought to the forefront by Covid, on… Read more

  • Traveller’s tales: Sending 1,000 books to libraries in Tajikistan

    Now more than ever, it’s important to find ways to lift our spirits and focus on the good that this world can sustain. With that in mind, I’m very happy to share my very own good news story. For various reasons, I wasn’t able to publish this at the time, but better late than never…… Read more

  • Distance learning feels very distant in Tajikistan

    With borders still closed and Covid cases on the rise, many of the 26,000 or so Tajik students who study in Russia each year remain stuck at home. With around five million students (a massive number but actually only 2% of the world’s student population) studying abroad, Tajikistan’s international students are far from being alone.… Read more

  • Who’s coming, who’s going, and who’s staying at home: Update on student mobility in Central Asia

    With some borders tentatively re-opening and others staying firmly shut as the Covid-19 pandemic rumbles on, it’s inevitable that this has impacted student mobility to and from Central Asia. However, this isn’t always entirely due to Covid-19 and it isn’t always playing out in patterns that are more commonly associated with student mobility. Let’s start… Read more