Curious to know more about trends in higher education internationalization in Central Asia? What might lie ahead for academic mobility in the pandemic/post-pandemic era? How the pandemic has driven innovation in digitalization of academic mobility? Then you will likely want to tune in to my public lecture Digital future? Virtual academic mobility and the prospects …
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What’s next for the Bologna Process in Central Asia?
While Russia and other countries of the ex-Soviet space are not covered by this blog, external events influence what's happening in Central Asia. And, when it comes to higher education, Russia is unavoidable. It's the largest host of international students from Central Asian countries and there are several Russian bi-national universities and Russian branch campuses …
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A degree more autonomy for Kazakhstan’s universities?
Give me a degree please! You've studied hard, taken exams, written essays, done experiments, completed practicums - basically, ticked all the boxes your course requires. All that's left is to get your well earned diploma (degree certificate). For students in Kazakhstan graduating from 2021, these diplomas will no longer be state issued but rather the …
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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... …
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Who’s coming, who’s going, and who’s staying at home: Update on student mobility in Central Asia
Yes, Kazakhstan is Very Nice. Read on for the tenuous link. 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 …
Kazakhstan publishes its back-to-school plan
While many countries are still pondering what to do with students come the new school year in September 2020, Kazakhstan - currently under a state imposed quarantine for a second time - has announced its back-to-school plan. If you're ready, open your laptop... most students in Kazakhstan aren't yet leaving their house to go back …
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Celebrity calling: Supporting Indian students stuck in Kyrgyzstan
Around 4,000 Indian international students are still stuck in Kyrgyzstan after COVID-19 measures have led to closed borders and calls to return home. This represents almost half of the total number of Indian students in the country - India is the top sending country of international students to Kyrgyzstan (see my 2019 post on this). …
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Academic freedom in Russia
Somewhat beyond the Central Asian scope I normally cover, but a topic that is highly relevant around the former Soviet space is academic freedom. I recently listened to a very interesting podcast on the topic of academic freedom in Russia. The episode focussed on a series of recent events and interventions at the elite Higher …
Kazakhstan: Where women predominate in universities but few lead
I'm really happy to share an article published in University World News by my colleague Svetlana Shakirova. Dr Shakirova is an expert on gender issues (and many other things), is Director of the Department for Research and Innovation at the Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University, and is also co-founder and director of the Almaty-based …
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Call for proposals: Beyond Competition? The Future Geopolitics of Knowledge (Panel to be held at ECPR 2019)
Below is a call for paper proposals to join a panel I am co-organizing that has been selected for inclusion at the 2019 General Conference of the European Consortium of Political Researchers. Please share this call with your contacts and consider sending us your abstract by January 10th! A pdf version of the proposal is …
Emma Sabzalieva 