Purpose This study aims to explore how some researchers become successful in the research context of a transitional country despite the resource- and training-related limitations imposed by an immature research system. Design/methodology/approach The research uses Unger’s ideas within agency theory, specifically, his concepts of “negative capability” and “formative context” as its framework. The study adopts a descriptive qualitative approach, whereby the data collected from 19 in-depth interviews with successful researchers from various universities of Kazakhstan is analyzed using emergent thematic coding. Findings The study findings are consistent with Unger’s agency theory. The theory predicts that researchers can achieve their goals by adapting to the constrained context and can take steps to transform the context in desirable ways. Specifically, the Kazakhstani researchers have successfully adapted the Soviet mechanism of research schools to the new realities by “exploiting” a recently introduced government-funded mobility program for doctoral students for their own purposes. This mechanism is conductive to junior researchers’ capacity building, as well as to increasing the productivity of the leading researchers and their research teams. Originality/value The contribution of the study consists in the fact that it explores the process of researcher development, more specifically, individual level research capacity building in the context of a transitional post-Soviet country. The study pays special attention to the role of international mobility and research schools in the development of research skills. The conclusions of the paper are of interest to the scholars of researcher development in general and to the specialists in individual research capacity building in Eurasia in particular.

Purpose Kazakhstan has taken considerable steps to improve the incoming mobility of international students; however, despite these measures, the number of international students studying in Kazakhstan is still very low. Research indicates that in order to attract and retain international students it is necessary to build a thorough understanding of their experiences in the host country. The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of international students’ experiences in Kazakhstan by exploring how they exercise their human agency while adapting to the academic and socio-cultural life in Kazakhstan. Design/methodology/approach The author used a purposeful criterion sampling to select six international students from Afghanistan, Great Britain, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine and the USA studying at Kazakhstani universities to participate in this research. The primary data collection was semi-structured in-depth interviews. Supportive methods included a demographic questionnaire and a researcher journal. Findings The study revealed that the international students actively employed their human agency to negotiate their studying and to adapt to their life in Kazakhstan. They did not simply adjust to the host environment, but also learned from it and attempted to transform it according to their circumstances and goals. Research limitations/implications The implication is that Kazakhstani universities and any other higher education institutions that seek to increase the number of their international students should consider not only how to attract these students, but also how to adapt their institution’s practices and regulations to create an inclusive learning environment for their diverse student population. It is also very important for higher education institutions to provide international students with the necessary conditions to exercise their human agency because as it was revealed by this study, international students’ human agency is a very powerful mechanism helping them live and learn comfortably in their host country. Originality/value Taking into consideration the reviewed previous research, this was the first attempt to use Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory for the purpose of building an understanding about how international students exercise their agency while adapting to the academic and socio-cultural life in the host country. The social cognitive theory allows investigating international students as active and self-sufficient agents of their own adaptation process who can and do change themselves, and have the potential to navigate and alter their host environment to achieve their own goals. This study encourages researchers and practitioners to think about international students outside the dimension of internationalization as a means of improving country’s economic capital.

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Purpose This study examines diaspora engagement and return migration programs aimed at providing diaspora youth with an opportunity to obtain higher education in Estonia and Kazakhstan. In particular, the authors sought to identify the main motivations, benefits and challenges of the programs, as well as understand how the programs contribute to the ethnic identity formation of diaspora students.Design/methodology/approach The paper employed a qualitative multiple-case study research design. In both countries, data were collected by means of 26 semi-structured interviews with return migrant students and experts involved in implementing the programs.Findings The study findings suggest that the primary motivations for diaspora youth to return to their homelands are tuition-free higher education, financial support and repatriation prospects in both countries. In Estonia, the scholarship holders struggled with language requirements for university admissions, the cost of living insufficiently covered by the monthly stipend and limited integration opportunities. In Kazakhstan, the students had to face the Russian language barrier and socio-cultural marginalization in their everyday life. It was also found that the return migrant students in Estonia and Kazakhstan develop hybrid identities to integrate into their domestic society. They reinforce their ethnic identities and negotiate their diasporic identities to make sense of their own background and cultural heritage and acclimatize to life in the new context.Originality/value The study provides practical implications for policy implementers and policymakers in Estonia and Kazakhstan. It can also be useful for the worldwide research community interested in exploring education-oriented diaspora engagement and return migration programs and their influence on the ethnic identity of diaspora students.

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