Comparative and International Higher Education Policy Specialist; Focus on Central Asia
The very lovely cover of the new book It's been a very long time in the making but the new book Building research capacity at universities: Insights from post-Soviet countries is now out! The book offers a comprehensive analysis of developments in higher education systems across the former Soviet space with a focus on research …
Continue reading Building research capacity at universities in the former Soviet space (new book)
Summer 2018 is turning out to be a productive time for book publishing: in July, a chapter I wrote with Professor Creso Sá on scientific nationalism and scientific globalism was published; late August saw the publication of my new chapter with Dr Merli Tamtik called: Emerging global players: Building institutional legitimacy in universities in Estonia …
I'm sharing a post I wrote for the Centre for Canadian & International Higher Education's blog about the University of Central Asia. The post was published today at https://ciheblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/a-multinational-university-in-central-asia/ and is also copied below: A Multinational University in Central Asia It’s the early 1990s and 15 new countries have emerged from the colossal historical moment …
Below is a very nice story posted on the Central Asia Institute website offering motivation and inspiration from a number of scholarship students from Tajikistan. Thanks to Michelle O'Brien for alerting me to this story. In Their Own Words: Scholarship Stories from Tajikistan (c) Central Asia Institute: https://centralasiainstitute.org/in-their-own-words-scholarship-stories-from-tajikistan February 20th, 2018 In Tajikistan, poverty is one of the …
Continue reading In Their Own Words: Scholarship Stories from Tajikistan (repost)
We live in an era of intense and growing international connections, but also in a world of significant positional differences between localities, states and regions. In this context, how can the idea of the world-class university be used by states to survive and succeed? What does this idea look like in states that are outside …
Continue reading New post on Europe of Knowledge blog on world-class universities
I've had a small gallery of my pictures of Central Asia's universities up on this site for a while, and have been meaning to update it after taking lots more photos this summer. So here we are, for your viewing pleasure (well, mainly for mine), here is a new and updated gallery showcasing just a …
Continue reading A visual tour of Central Asia’s universities
News has emerged of a number of connected protests in / relating to Tajikistan. However, if at first glance this appears to be a tiny step towards practicing the freedoms (of speech, to gather in public etc) nominally guaranteed to citizens under Tajik law, don't get your hopes up. Leading the story on 23 September, Radio Free Europe/Radio …
Continue reading Protests? What protests? The continuing lack of plurality in Tajikistan
How do you catch the attention of a global audience increasingly used to high participation in higher education? In the case of Kazakhstan, one journalist thinks he's found the answer, and that is to showcase the high stakes risks some people will take just to have the chance to compete for a place at one of the country's …
If you are a developing Asian state, the answer apparently seems to be 'yes'. This has been suggested as a strategy for Asian countries in achieving their research and development goals. Resources for scientific research, whether undertaken in universities or in the private sector, should be carefully allocated and targeted towards specific areas for priority development. …
Continue reading Does research always have to be targeted towards economic benefit?
Today's post picks up on a recent report by Yojana Sharma in University World News on a new alliance set up in China to bring together universities along the Silk Road, that ancient trading route linking China to Europe. In fact, the exact geography of 'Silk Road' is very broadly interpreted for this new grouping, bringing together as it does …
Emma Sabzalieva 