Nairobi, April 7 -- When Jane Nduta left Kenya for Portugal on a Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition scholarship, she expected to build a career in hospital wards and patient care.

But a decade later, she has found success in Europe's technology sector. She tells BDLife her journey is proof that the hardest work abroad is not just about landing a scholarship, but reinventing yourself in a foreign job market.

She left Kenya on a fully funded Erasmus Mundus Scholarship."I learned about this scholarship in a small talk on the sidelines of a dinner at Kenyatta University. Someone just told me to take a chance. I thought scholarships were not for me."

As if to affirm her doubts, she didn't get in during her first year of trying. "I told...