Blog post from Innocent Rwamba Nyaga who is following the MS in market research at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Innocent is the recipient of the ESOMAR Foundation / MSRA Scholarship sponsored by WIRe and Unilever.

This semester has been one of the hardest and most enjoyable in equal measure. I have to admit I didn’t think I would have made it without dropping the ball but I am glad I’m at the half-way junction! Second semester exams are now over with the third semester beckons!

The units this semester have been great, especially Green Marketing. I don’t think I had ever thought of sustainable marketing before I interacted with this unit. The unit was taught at such a crucial time in Kenya, where as a people we haven’t been environmentally conscious. Kenya’s forest cover is less than 10% of total land mass and there are no initiatives to rebuild it and sadly so because we have been experiencing heavy rainfalls the last couple of months. So the Green Marketing class of 2018 in the University of Nairobi, we want to be the next Wangari Maathai’s and take care of our trees as she avidly had before her passing. Please check out Kenya’s Nobel Peace Prize 2004 winner for her “contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace’’.  She founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women’s rights. Isn’t that a fitting description!! I hope I get to make any kind of positive influence, change in the little world around me.

Wangari Maathai, Kenya’s Nobel Peace Prize 2004 winner for her “contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace’’.

I have been so inspired by the Green Marketing lecturer, Prof. Mary Kinoti. She has brought forth a yearning to be better, to dream and to see it through no matter what. We still have weekly meetings even when we have finalized her classes already but the fire in us to make a difference burns so hot for us still. She nurtured us and hopefully what she taught us will not be in vain!

Prof. Mary Kinoti

I look forward to a new year, there have been lecturers’ strikes still in this beautiful country of ours so hopefully it will not affect us this coming year.

It has been pure pleasure and hard work being honored with ESOMAR-WiRE Scholarship recipient of 2017-2018. I now want to branch out and work with you personally, I hope I shall be worthy of that extended honor!

How you can support

If you are a market researcher, a national market research association, an NGO involved in research or a university interested in a scholarship in your country please contact us at info@esomarfoundation.org

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This is the fifth blog from Nutsa Kvitashvili who is following the BA Program of Sociology at Caucasus School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Nutsa is the recipient of the ESOMAR Foundation Scholarship sponsored by Inizio.

I finished the first semester of my senior year at Caucasus University and this semester was probably my favorite of all because I had subjects which were very interesting and exciting for me, that’s why I wrote my final exams pretty well.  By the way this year is Caucasus University’s 20 year anniversary, so this year we will have a lot of fun activities and events and I’m looking forward to it.

It’s amazing how time flies when you are doing things that you like. Four years ago I became a student at Caucasus University, it seems like it was just a few weeks ago but now I’m in my last semester. Those four years at CU (Caucasus University) were educational and also fun. I met new people and most of them are my friends now, I got to do a lot of fun activities, visit university events and parties and just enjoying student life to the fullest. Besides all the fun being in your last semester is tough because you have more responsibilities and a lot of decisions to make. For example, where should I work? Or should I get my master degree first? Where is it better to get a master degree? In Georgia or maybe in Europe? Which university? Which major should I choose? And there are many questions like this which every senior year student should ask their selves and make these life-changing decisions which could be hard for them. Students start to realize that their academic journey which began when they first started school is now ending. Starting a new chapter in your life can be terrifying because we don’t always know what should we expect in the future. But at the same time with changes come a lot of great opportunities for young adults. The end of something is not necessarily a bad thing, it means that something new is starting and who knows maybe this new journey would be more interesting. American author Caroline Myss once said, “always go with a choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to help you grow.”

This is the fifth blog-post from Paola Loy Villagran, the recipient of the ESOMAR Foundation scholarship in Guatemala. 

During these days I am taking final exams in the first trimester, waiting for the best results to enjoy the summer holidays.

We followed a course called Operations Research, a discipline that deals with the application of advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions, so we can improve time, costs and customer service processes. We can use these applications in airlines, manufacturing companies, service organizations and many others. Hopefully I will be able to implement some of these methods in my own business in the future.

Easter Week in Guatemala

Among other things, as I mentioned in my last blog, Guatemala has a mix of Mayan and Christian traditions that allow us to unite in faith and family. And since we are so close to the celebration I would like to tell you a little about them.

One of the most important, that reminds me my childhood is making carpets.

There are two types of carpets that are made during Easter Week in Guatemala: The carpets along the processional route, made by residents who invite friends and family to assist them, and the carpets in the churches that are made for the holy vigils by the brotherhoods.

On Good Friday the streets of Guatemala are covered with natural, aromatic carpets of flowers, pines, clover and fruits, which the residents put together and place in front of their homes. There are all kinds and shapes, some of them are very long, even up to a kilometer, with colonial and original designs and usually they are made during the 24 hours prior to the procession.

And because of the intense detail and amount of time dedicated to their creation, they are meant to be destroyed once the processions pass. This is a way for the people to give something of themselves in memory of Christ’s death.

Also, during this month my family and I attend a special event organized by Avon Foundation for Women, with the purpose to educate and mobilize people worldwide on issues that are of vital importance to women like breast cancer education and ending violence against women.

“Violence against women and girls hides in the shadow of silence” they said during the event, so I think we all must support these activities and help others to develop and implement policies that promote gender equality.

Nicolin Mamuya, who was granted the first ESOMAR Foundation scholarship in South Africa, has now finished her studies at the University of Johannesburg and is now working as a graduate trainee in the consumer insights and innovation department of a retail company. The company has also arranged for all trainees to complete a post-graduate diploma in business management. So she is basically working while going to school.

We are already 3 months into the year and so much has happened. I finally moved out of the place that I last lived in with my mother. It was such a big step, however; it was what I needed to remind myself that I am actually growing. After all, with growth comes change. I have gained confidence due to how far I have come and my future goals are only becoming clearer as time goes. I only have God to thank for all the opportunities I have been blessed with.

I have also started frequently watching inspirational videos seeing as there really is no formula for this life. One of the interesting videos by Jim Rohn in 1981, provided great food for thought. He mentioned that unless you change how you are, you will always remain with what you have. He continues to state that success is something you attract, not what you pursue. Self-development is, therefore, important. You can start by changing your attitude and then after, understand all you can do through “childish curiosity”. Childish curiosity means that you should not be skeptical but rather be as curious as a child. Jim Rohn highlights the importance of having childish faith i.e., believing easily. This concentrates on easily believing in your abilities.

There is so much that he looked into, however, the one thing that seems to summarise all he said is that everything depends on you. We should, therefore, not blame but rather learn to take responsibility.