Fortunately, our new article will not make you fall asleep 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 …
Category: Turkmenistan

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 …
Educating Central Asia, From Soviet Collapse to COVID-19 – Interview with The Diplomat
I recently teamed up with Vasila Bozichaeva, higher education researcher and PhD candidate at the Academy of Sciences in Tajikistan to do an interview with The Diplomat on education in Central Asia. Our interview responses were furr-ific In the interview, we cover everything from the idea of a university in Soviet times to how Tajikistan's …
Nine years of blogging later…
Cat memes are now an integral part of the blog. I started to include them after a friend suggested (jokingly??) that I should add cat pics to increase readership... I started this blog back in September 2011 after completing my Master's degree and having had the chance to write my final report about a subject …
Making it easier for international students to work in Russia
New regulations in Russia are making it easier for international students to work whilst studying
Back to school in Central Asia
Covid-cat is ready to go back to school (if it's open) The impending start of the 2020/21 school year is presenting challenges for teachers, students, parents, and governments around the world. Although some countries have managed to come up with a plan, many are still fumbling in the COVID-19 induced darkness, even with September just …
Watch/listen again: My SCOLAR Talk on higher education in Central Asia
Screenshot from my SCOLAR Talk on August 13, 2020 with Olesya Dovgalyuk Thanks to everyone who tuned in live last week to watch my SCOLAR Talk with the talented Olesya Dovgalyuk. We had a great time chatting about everything from Ibn Sino (Avicenna) to the 400+% growth in the higher education system in contemporary Kyrgyzstan! …
Continue reading Watch/listen again: My SCOLAR Talk on higher education in Central Asia

Join me live: Thurs Aug 13 on SCOLAR Talk
Join me live at 9.30am EST / 9.30pm CST on Thursday August 13 talking higher education in Central Asia with SCOLAR Talk

Covid-19 and education in Central Asia
With the world's attention drawn to the coronavirus pandemic for the foreseeable future, this week's post looks at the current impact of Covid-19 on education in Central Asia. First, a few shout outs to others reporting on the spread of coronavirus in the region. For general updates on what's happening across Central Asia, check out …
Why are Uzbek students abroad being sent home?
No choice but to home for Uzbekistan's overseas students Uzbekistan's Ministry of Education has announced that Uzbek students studying abroad in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan should return home and enrol at a domestic higher education institution. The Ministry has been quick to underline that this decision is not connected to the novel coronavirus that …
Continue reading Why are Uzbek students abroad being sent home?