Comparative and International Higher Education Policy Specialist; Focus on 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 …
Continue reading What’s next for the Bologna Process in Central Asia?
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 – …
Kazakhstan is in the world's headlines after a series of protests that started over energy price hikes rapidly escalated and continue to unfold at the time of writing this on 7 January 2022. The involvement of Russia into the situation in Kazakhstan just a couple of days into events has set off alarm bells and …
Continue reading Kazakhstan, Russia, and the international students caught in between
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. …
Continue reading International students can return to Russia
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 …
Continue reading Russia partially re-opens its borders for international students
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 …
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. …
Continue reading Distance learning feels very distant in Tajikistan
New regulations in Russia are making it easier for international students to work whilst studying
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 …
Say hi to Pep, who likes to hang out at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Pep has nothing to do with today's story but I seem to have exhausted most of the internet's attempts at cat memes relevant to university students. Whereas their Uzbek counterparts are being sent home from studying abroad, Kyrgyz students …
Emma Sabzalieva 