Career pathways and employment strategies of graduates of Czech Government agricultural university scholarships for studies in the Czech Republic

Narcisse Yao Ayassou

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

With more than 20,000 postsecondary students from the Global South supported, the Czech Republic stands as one of the global leading scholarship donors. However, due to the lack of a database on former scholarship holders, little information is available about the alumni’s career paths, their opinions on their beneficial deeds to society, and how much it diverges across regions. As a result, measuring the effectiveness of the Czech scholarship scheme is challenging. The study investigates the career paths and employment strategies of scholarship graduates from Czech state agricultural universities. Based on a qualitative method and using a semi-structured individual interview, the paper compares the perspectives and experiences of 21 alumni who originated from Georgia, Ethiopia and Zambia and graduated from the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Mendel University, and the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. The results provide evidence of notable human capital development for the middle-income country (Georgia) and least-developed countries (Ethiopia and Zambia) but with variations depending on the cultural context. For graduates from Georgia, personal growth precedes and is a step to societal development whereas community engagement, family support and self-fulfilment are equally important or codependent to the African alumni. It follows different initiatives of giving back at a societal level. Owing their employment to their individual actions, alumni recommended the creation of a communication platform between scholarship beneficiaries and also with the programme for more social and professional networks. Finally, the study offered suggestions for future research that would look at gender differences in career paths and investigate how generational theories affect employment choices in agriculture.

Keywords

Czech Republic, Governmental Scholarship, Scholarship Impact, Career Pathways, Employment strategies

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 20. 4. 2024

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 29. 5. 2024
• Supervisor: Ing. Jiří Hejkrlík, Ph.D.
• Reader: Petra Chaloupková, Ph.D. dr. h. c.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Bachelor programme:
International Cooperation in Agricultural and Rural Development