Educating for inclusion beyond the pandemic – Learning from Central Asia

I've recently returned from Washington DC, USA, where this year's Comparative & International Education Society (CIES) conference took place. A huge gathering of over 3,000 education researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, the conference opened many valuable spaces for learning, (re)connecting, and sharing research and ideas. Members of the GPE KIX research team with then Kyrgyz Minister …

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Surviving a Crisis: Transformation, Adaptation, and Resistance in Higher Education (new article)

My new article, Surviving a Crisis: Transformation, Adaptation, and Resistance in Higher Education, is now out. The article is open access and the online first version is available to download at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/hegp/issue/69503/1054946. This is the first article to be published from my PhD research and it also builds on the webinar I gave at the …

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Next Generation: Reflections and perspectives on higher education in the former Soviet Union [free online conference, 14 & 15 Feb]

The conference image. Source: Pixabay I warmly invite you to join a free online conference I am organizing at UNESCO together with HSE University (Russia) on 14 and 15 February. All welcome with registration required (links below). Please share the information widely. Date: Monday 14 February 2022 and Tuesday 15 February 2022 Time: 09:00 – …

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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 …

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

I've spent many a happy hour enjoying the challenge of finding a vaguely suitable cat meme to go with many of my blog posts 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 …

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International students can return to Russia

International students are ready to fly back to Russia - if they can afford the price of the ticket 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. …

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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. Five cats cuddled together... Five Central Asian countries agreeing to a partnership... OK, OK, it's pure feline clickbait. Sorry not sorry. The plans have been formalized and signed by the five …

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National approaches to university rankings in Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America (new open access book chapter)

I'm happy to see the long-awaited publication of a book chapter on national approaches to university rankings in Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and Latin America in the volume Global University Rankings and the Politics of Knowledge, edited by Michelle Stack. Our chapter, co-authored with Creso Sá, Nadiia Kachynska and Magdalena Martinez, reviews …

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Russia partially re-opens its borders for international students

Feline good about getting back to the library During March 2021, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science passed two orders permitting the return of international students from a total of 31 countries. This includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (Turkmenistan is not on either list), other ex-Soviet states and a slightly random collection of …

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Teaching and Learning in Central Asia / Преподавание и обучение в Центральной Азии (Seminar, 8 April/Семинар, 8 апреля)

This upcoming Russian-language seminar from the University of Central Asia should be of great interest to all those researching and working in the area of high/secondary school teaching and learning. Recommended! Предстоящий русскоязычный семинар Университета Центральной Азии должен вызвать большой интерес у всех тех, кто занимается исследованиями и работает в области преподавания и обучения в …

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