Supporting data for "Legacy-Innovation Challenges in Post-Soviet Higher Education: Scholars’ Pursuit of Academic Career in Cambodia and Kazakhstan"

 This is the dataset for the thesis " Legacy-Innovation Challenges in Post-Soviet Higher Education: Scholars’ Pursuit of Academic Career in Cambodia and Kazakhstan". This qualitative research examines the scholarly career development among post-Soviet scholars in Cambodia and Kazakhstan as they tried to solve legacy-innovation challenges and dilemmas posted by the de-Sovietization of higher education systems in their countries after the demise of the Soviet Union. Specifically, this thesis explores how these scholars developed their scholarly competency to accumulate advantages for prospect careers in the Soviet system, what challenges and dilemmas they had to solve, and how they solved these challenges in order to advance their careers in their respective country. The data is collected through interviews with 10 Cambodian and 8 Kazakhstan participants who used to study in the Soviet system. The dataset consists of 16 interview verbatim transcripts and interview protocol. The interview questions cover the following: (1) their academic experience in the Soviet model, (2) major changes in the higher education system and their universities, (3) the challenges they have experienced, (4) and their success stories in advancing their academic career amid the transformation.