Exchange to Change June 2018 E2C-may18-web | Page 18

18
AT I O B
Going global: alumni
research internship
In the framework of the IOB Going Global
programme, IOB alumnus Valera Saenko was invited
to Mzumbe University to participate in a research
project on ‘Contract farming in sugar cane farming
‘, supervised by Dr. Jennifer Kasanda Sesabo. Valera
was involved in the research design, data collection
and data analysis of the project. Additionally, he also
presented a workshop on Qualitative analysis using
Nvivo software for interested Mzumbe staff.
It was my first time going to Africa, let alone doing a real
field research in development. At first I was quite nervous
but also very excited to visit Tanzania. Upon arrival I
have received a very warm welcome from the Mzumbe
University so I felt instantly at home there. The field work
was organised quickly and in no time I was conducting
my first focus group discussions that gave great insight.
People in the villages were very open and were very much
willing to provide as much interesting information about
their lives and their work. While the internship was indeed
filled with both data gathering and a lot of desk research, I
still had the opportunity to see the beautiful country itself,
visit a national park to see the wild animals, talk to great
people that live there. I also had a chance to stay in Dar Es
Salaam for a few days where I could transition back to the
usual city life, visit a few museums, cafes and spend some
time on the beach. Of course I also took this time to finish
my report. This internship gave me great experience in
both professional and personal aspects and I hope this was
not the last time I visit Tanzania.
E xchange to change J une 2018
IOB alumnus Valera Saenko during field visit
Mzumbe University campus