As a higher education policy specialist, I have over 20 years of expertise in research, teaching, policy analysis, consultancy, and practice. I’m currently Assistant Professor in Higher Education Policy and Leadership at McGill University (Canada).
Previously Head of Research and Foresight at UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education, I led flagship international projects on the right to higher education, the futures of higher education, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, virtual student mobility, academic freedom and higher education governance.
Research
My research explores how and why education policy changes across contexts and the implications of policy change and reform. Focussing on higher education policy, I use a range of qualitative methods to research the intersections between the policy process and lived experiences and the actors who are leading policy change.
Cutting across my research is a commitment to increasing equity by examining the historic barriers and current challenges to inclusion in higher education. My work is usually comparative and international, and I have regional specializations in Central Asia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America.
I’ve worked as a researcher at York University (Canada), the University of Toronto (Canada), the University of Central Asia and collaborated on research with the Higher School of Economics (Russia)/University of Oxford (UK).
I’ve published widely in academic journals/books as well as in general interest publications, webinars, and podcasts. Since 2011, I’ve been running a blog about education, society and politics in Central Asia. Named one of The Guardian’s “best social media accounts for academics”, the blog stems from working in Central Asia for a groundbreaking education initiative in the early 2000s and substantive engagement with the region since then.
Teaching
At McGill University, I teach graduate level courses on (higher) education policy, leadership, comparative education, and education and development. At the University of Toronto, I taught systems of higher education and supported courses on international academic relations and comparative education theories and methods. At undergraduate level, I taught a large enrolment online course on critical international development studies.
I support students to build their own bridges between their lived experiences and the course material through active learning processes that connect theory with real-world practice. I’m an experienced mentor, workshop facilitator and team leader, and have a career-long commitment to promoting women’s professional development.
Policy analysis and consultancy
I’ve provided policy advice to the governments of Tajikistan (with the World Bank), Estonia and the UK; the University of Oxford, and the University of Central Asia. I managed conferences, membership and governance at the Central Eurasian Studies Society.
I’m an Advisory Board member at the Centre for Global Higher Education (University of Oxford/University College London) and a founding Advisory Council member of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs. I was a Board Director of the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education.
Higher education administration
As a higher education practitioner, I enjoyed a 10+ year progressively senior career working in higher education administration and management at the University of Central Asia (Tajikistan), University of Oxford (UK) and University College London (UK).
I am co-author of the book Managing your career in higher education administration (2014), part of Palgrave Macmillan’s Universities into the 21st century series.
Education
I completed my PhD in Comparative & International Higher Education from the University of Toronto in 2020 (yes, I’m a Zoom doctor…). My thesis is about how and why change happens in higher education, with a focus on former Soviet higher education systems. My PhD was funded by a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and a Study Abroad Studentship from the UK’s Leverhulme Trust.
My thesis won the 2021 Dissertation Award from the Comparative & International Education Society Eurasia SIG; part of my doctoral research was awarded the 2018 Excellent Paper Award for an Emerging Scholar by the Knowledge Politics and Policies Standing Group of the European Consortium of Political Researchers.
I have an MBA in Higher Education Management from University College London (UK), an undergraduate MA (Hons) in Russian Studies & History from the University of Edinburgh (UK), and a Postgraduate Certificate in Conflict & Development from the Open University (UK).
Languages
In addition to English (my native language), I have fluent Russian, good but rusty French, intermediate Spanish, and a smattering of other languages.
Social media and networks
I have a profile on X (Twitter) but have been winding down my presence since it became single lettered
![The importance of the youth vote in the UK: Keeping higher education on the political agenda [despite Brexit] – CIHE BLOG Avatar](https://ciheblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/cropped-logo1.png?w=48){kind=logo}
Emma Harden-Wolfson 
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