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 …
Tag: Turkmenistan
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 …
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! …
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The end of science in Turkmenistan?
The Academy of Sciences in Turkmenistan is facing major budget cuts that will see a third of its personnel lose their jobs and structural changes that may see the Academy disappear from the science scene in the country. As an institution, the Academy of Sciences brings together researchers from across disciplines, historically separating them from …
Of bars and brothels: Turkmenistani parents warned of dangers of allowing children to study abroad
The opportunity to study abroad is usually positioned as a life (and CV) enhancing experience. Among other benefits, studying abroad enables you to learn about different ways of teaching and learning, find out about new cultures, make new friends, and brush up on your language skills. Little wonder that the number of internationally mobile students …
Turkmenistan’s universities in search of European partners
A rare story from Turkmenistan [ru] popped up in my inbox recently. Authored by the Russian language website turkmenistan.ru, it describes how a group of university leaders from the country recently visited Romania to discuss expanding their institutional partnerships. The short article lists a number of agreements being signed between universities in the two countries. From …
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Hunger And Eviction: Money Woes Send Turkmen Students Abroad Scrambling (Repost from RFE/RL)
Not much is written about higher education in Turkmenistan. Its education system, like much else in the country, is generally closed off to the outside world. The only news that tends to get out is when some high cost project is launched (see e.g. British tabloid The Express on the opening of a new airport …
Call for papers – “Global Bolognaization”: Central Asian Encounters with the European Higher Education Area
Are you a Central Asia based academic or practitioner with direct experience of the Bologna Process/European Higher Education Area? If so, we want to hear from you! I am co-Chair of a proposal for a roundtable at the European Consortium of Political Researchers (ECPR) General Conference, which will be held in August 2018 in Hamburg, …
Emma Sabzalieva 