The team behind the research

Aray Gaipova is a sociologist and PhD researcher, examining how intersectional gender inequality shapes access to Western education and post-return sociopolitical engagement in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Her comparative research traces educational mobility from pre-departure selection through study abroad and return. Trained in Sociology at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, she brings nearly fifteen years of lived experience across the post-Soviet region, Turkey, and Western Europe. She works in English, Russian, Kazakh, and Turkish.

Elvin Yusifli is a PhD candidate whose research investigates how internationally educated professionals become part of governing elites in non-Western countries and the roles they play in institutional change in their home countries. Mr. Yusifli has previously held leadership roles in civil society and higher education, with a focus on governance reform, organizational development, and educational quality. He holds an MA in Social and Public Policy from Duquesne University, where he studied as an Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellow.