Dr. Elima Karalaeva is an Associate Professor at the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Administration of the American University of Central Asia. She holds a Ph.D. in Politics from the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter (2015, UK), a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University (2007, USA), a Master of Business Administration from the Academy for Teaching Excellence in Higher Education (TeachEx) (2004, Kyrgyzstan), and a specialized degree with distinction in Economist, Finance, and Banking Specialization from Kyrgyz State National University (1998, Kyrgyzstan). 

Dr. Karalaeva joined AUCA in 2004 as an Assistant Professor in the Business Administration department. As an Associate Professor, she rejoined AUCA after completing a Ph.D. in 2015. She was a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow of the Atlas Short-term Postdoctoral Mobility Programme at the French Institute for Central Asian Studies (2018), a Visiting Research Fellow of the Indiana University Foundation (2018), and a Central Asian Faculty Development Programme Graduate Fellow (2010-2015). She has been a member of the European Society for Central Asian Studies (ESCAS) since 2018.