Paper long abstract:

This study seeks to examine how graduates of two Kazakhstani government scholarship programmes, namely ‘Bolashak’ (‘Future’ in Kazakh language) and Nazarbayev University, view their contribution to the development of their home country. We specifically focus on the alumni contribution in creating pathways for social change in Kazakhstan. The paper aims to identify factors that support and hinder government scholarship recipients’ contributions to the development of their country. The following research questions guide this study: (1) How do government scholarship alumni perceive their contribution to their home country development and creating pathways for social change? (2) What contextual factors and programme characteristics support or impede alumni contributions to their home country? Participants were selected based on purposeful maximum variation sample. The three key criteria for the selection of participants included: (a) alumni who received full funding from Bolashak and Nazarbayev University, (b) alumni who currently reside in Kazakhstan, (c) alumni who studied at Masters level. The data for the study consist of individual semi-structured interviews with 80 alumni of the two government scholarship programmes. Half of the alumni were selected from STEM fields and the other half were selected from fields of social sciences. The data collection for this project was completed in April. Currently we are in the process of data analysis and hoping to present our findings at CESS annual 2021 conference. The study is significant on many fronts. It is timely and has policy and practical relevance, as well as in the contribution to international research on scholarship and mobility programmes. Findings will be transferable to other scholarship and mobility programs, particularly those with similar characteristics and operating in similar national contexts. Findings can also provide insights into how to more effectively implement these programmes to ensure that they achieve their goals. In addition, the study can assist programme administrators to revise eligible fields or further assist students in their choice of field of study. This study can also inform policymakers in Kazakhstan, as well as in other post-Soviet and post-colonial countries undergoing political, economic and social transition and grappling with skill shortages. Considering the scarcity of scholarly research on scholarship programmes contribution to countries’ development in the post-Soviet space, and most importantly a dearth of literature on outcomes from government scholarship programmes, this study will contribute to global research on scholarship programmes from within a non-western context.