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The purpose of this paper is to explore how Mongolian alumni of three different scholarship programs sponsored by governments of Japan and Mongolia view their role in national development after graduation.

This paper reports findings from a phenomenological study (Creswell, 2007) – the first phase of an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study in a recent PhD study. Based on semi-structured interviews with 24 alumni the study aimed to understand alumni’s perspectives in their voices.

Alumni were motivated to contribute to their communities, institutions, economic, political, social and legal conditions of Mongolia. However, they faced various structural challenges including getting jobs in the public sector even when they had binding agreements with employers. The findings call for long-term support for alumni projects and hubs as well as policy frameworks that tie the scholarship programs with national development goals.

Despite the high mobility rate of Mongolian scholars and a long history of Japanese Official Development Assistance to develop human resources in developing countries especially in Asia, little is known about the impact of these programs on the Mongolian national development. Through the phenomenological study, this study expands the understanding of ways in which alumni contribute to their national development.

The Japanese government has introduced various policies to attract highly skilled professionals including foreign faculties at higher education institutions. However, there is little guidance for foreigners, especially from the Global South to navigate the job hunting process. When we came to Japan to pursue our doctoral studies (along with a 7-year-old and a 7-month-old), we did not plan to work here afterward. However, learning the language (even at survival level), finding a mentor (inside and outside the university), actively participating in academic conferences, and being the agent in our study and work helped us overcome the roadblocks.

In this chapter, a husband and wife reflect on their academic journey abroad – challenges and opportunities – in Japan. We hope that our experience and advice would be useful for young families interested in pursuing education abroad and perhaps working in Japanese academia.