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This paper aims to investigate the perceived sustainable supervisory relationships between supervisors and postgraduate international students at a research university in Malaysia.

Drawing on a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 33 international postgraduate students and 10 academic staff at a Malaysian research university.

Perceived sustainable supervisory relationships were perceived by both stakeholders in terms of future employment rapport, further research collaborations upon graduation and global engagement via networking initiatives.

This paper contributes to the supervision literature by establishing novel nuances in the nature and lived experiences of the sustainable supervisory relationships beyond graduation. The implications of developing significant and profound relationships beyond graduation at micro and macro levels are also discussed.

International postgraduate education in business‐related subjects has grown substantially in the UK. Both MBA and specialist Masters’ programmes increasingly offer entrepreneurship as a core or option. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in meeting the expectations and motivations of international postgraduate students.

The authors explored four questions through a survey of international students participating in entrepreneurship courses in two Business Schools: What is the typical profile of the international students’ prior education and work experience? What do students expect from studying an entrepreneurship PG course in the UK? What are their experiences of, and learning outcomes from, the entrepreneurship course? What benefits regarding their skills and knowledge do they perceive result from participation?

The results confirm that career development is a major motivator for international study in the UK. Entrepreneurship can help to address cultural tensions between postgraduate students’ expectations and their experiences of UK business education.

Suggestions are offered for educators on the effective design and delivery of entrepreneurship for international students in the rapidly changing and competitive postgraduate market.

Cultural integration, learning effectiveness and linguistic capability need to be addressed in designing learning programmes for international students.

The paper contributes new evidence to the debate on meeting the career expectations and motivations of international postgraduate students participating in entrepreneurship education, especially in the light of new curricular guidance and UK government regulation.

Based on the theoretical framework of expectancy‐disconfirmation paradigm, the purpose of this paper is to examine the differences in student perceptions of the level of satisfaction related to educational and non‐educational services among four groups of international postgraduate business students from China, India, Indonesia and Thailand undertaking study in Australia.

The data used in this study were derived from a mail survey conducted among international postgraduate business students from Asia studying at five universities in the state of Victoria, Australia. A total of 573 usable responses were received. Analysis using structural equation modelling, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was undertaken.

This study develops and tests a model of international postgraduate student satisfaction. Findings indicate that the importance of service quality factors related to both educational and non‐educational services varies among nationality groups and, therefore, has a differential impact on student satisfaction.

The study provides insights into seven constructs related to educational and non‐educational services that are perceived as important by postgraduate business students from Asia in satisfaction formation. Universities should develop a diversified strategic marketing plan that incorporates the differential needs of international postgraduate business students according to the educational and non‐educational constructs developed in this paper.

This study makes a contribution by filling a void in academic research in the area of satisfaction in relation to postgraduate international business students from four nationality groups in Asia.

The purpose of this paper is to surface themes which may influence Chinese students’ decision making in relation to postgraduate study in international universities.

The study utilises a semi-structured qualitative interview methodology (n=15).

The main findings are discussed according to the following themes: financial and time costs; employment prospects; postgraduate education as a cultural adventure; linguistics; visa issues; admissions; climate; influence of referents; and academic image and reputation.

The sample size is small, yet affords greater depth of data and discussion.

The research offers practitioners in universities who are managing postgraduate recruitment of Chinese students, some greater understanding of the reasons behind prospective Chinese postgraduate students’ choice; from which they can evaluate the effectiveness of their institutions’ recruitment strategies.

Extant research has tended to report reasons why Chinese students study overseas, whereas this study offers deeper insight and exploration of the reasoning of Chinese international students in the postgraduate context. The research is of value given the importance of postgraduate Chinese students to international university recruitment.

The purpose of this paper is to explore international postgraduate students’ expectations of UK university education, covering various aspects of student expectation at a leading business school in Scotland. The authors present in this paper the findings from the qualitative stage of this study, offering a fresh insight into the factors that influence students’ expectations of postgraduate university education and the impact this has on the students’ satisfaction with their courses.

A qualitative inquiry was adopted, collecting primary data by means of semi-structured interviews of business school international students enroled in different taught 12-month MSc courses.

International students are found to have high expectations of improved job prospects after graduating from their chosen UK university, underlined mainly by the university’s reputation for improving student employability. The most significant a priori factors that form students’ expectations are word of mouth, recommendations and the students’ belief in the calibre of lecturers and the quality of the facilities.

The students are universities’ most important customers in an increasingly competitive and financially constrained UK higher education environment. Theoretically, the study contributes to the growing literature in this challenging environment not only by identifying the components of international postgraduate students’ expectations but also by exploring how the expectations can be met or exceeded to improve students’ satisfaction. Future research can also replicate this study to other subject areas and draw the similarities and differences that may exist in the expectations of non-business international MSc students.

Practically, this study’s findings should help university students’ recruitment and engagement services develop tailored marketing strategies to better manage international students’ expectations, for example, by being more proactive in embedding employability into postgraduate education provision. Moreover, the findings can also be drawn upon to improve the design and delivery of taught MSc courses in order to meet and exceed the expectations of prospective international postgraduate students.

This research offers a fresh insight and contributes to the understanding of international students’ expectations and their satisfaction of university education services.

Enterprise and entrepreneurship education (EEE) is seen as a major contributor to economic growth and development in the post-2008 environment we term the “New Era”. The role of EEE in enabling graduates to develop entrepreneurial intentions and career plans is therefore of major importance. The paper explores how EEE can influence postgraduate entrepreneurship and career initiation in the context of the New Era economy at an international level.

The paper explores the learning experiences of a group of 60 postgraduate international students who completed an Entrepreneurship programme at the University of Lincoln which included the development of personal learning narratives and career plans. The students were exposed to the opportunity-centred entrepreneurship approach and the “Entrepreneurial Effectiveness” model in the QAA (2012) guidelines. Their narratives were analysed to assess: prior career intentions, proposed career intentions resulting from the EEE programme, application of learning arising from the EEE programme and a survey of students was used to validate the narratives

EEE has a wider influence on personal development and career planning than simply the intention to create new ventures. The paper builds on a prior study of international postgraduate students’ orientation to entrepreneurship education in their expectations of the UK higher education, which confirmed that career development is a major motivator for international study in the UK (Rae and Woodier-Harris, 2012). The paper contributes new understanding of the relationships between EEE and graduate career intentions, especially at PG and international levels. The paper explores personal growth, confidence and identity development, formation of new career intentions and the application of learning. The international dimension is considerable and this is discussed.

The paper has implications for the marketing, design and delivery of EEE at international and HE institutional levels, as well as for the practices of educators in designing, validating and delivering programmes for entrepreneurial career development, at national and international levels.

The paper contributes new understanding to the role of EEE in postgraduate career initiation at international level in a period of significant and complex economic transformation.

The aim of this paper is to assess the motives, expectations and preparedness of postgraduate marketing students, and discuss possible implications for postgraduate marketing education in the UK.

The research uses primary data collected from postgraduate marketing students at four British universities. Factor analysis is used to evaluate the convergent validity of the survey questionnaire and Cronbach's alpha coefficient to examine the internal consistency and reliability of the variables composing the major scales.

The results indicate that postgraduate marketing education today faces a culturally diverse student body coupled with a notable lack of relevant work experience. Students are found to have relatively low perception of their preparedness for postgraduate study and high expectations for support and practical experience in marketing.

The sample used is relatively small although the high response rate achieved would help add validity to the study. Further research should examine the ways in which students draw on their prior‐learning experience to make sense of their learning process.

This study should be of interest to postgraduate marketing programme and module leaders. It suggests that a realignment of curriculum design and various support activities on the part of postgraduate marketing education providers are needed to respond to the changing body of students.

The study offers a timely measure of the motives, preparedness, and expectations of postgraduate marketing students. The findings should be of immediate and practical value to postgraduate marketing educators in the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficacy of the strategies that new, regional universities use for recruiting international postgraduate research students (IPRSs).

An exploratory, qualitative cross-case study analysis was used to address a problem and associated gap in the literature, identified from a review of academic literature and government statistics. Case studies comprised multiple data sources, including interviews and questionnaires with 66 employee and student respondents and document reviews.

A disparity between the views of students and employees regarding effective recruitment strategies was apparent. This led to divergence between the needs of prospective students and institutional strategies used during recruitment. Findings include suggestions to improve such strategies.

The study provides a basis for future research on higher education recruitment for new and regional universities and for IPRSs. As the research focused on two Australian universities, knowledge obtained should be explored further.

Results suggest students considering overseas postgraduate research study prioritize information, readily available online, about the university’s research focus and capacity, the features of surrounding communities and the regional impact of the research. Results also suggest that focusing on developing institution-to-institution and researcher-to-researcher relationships provides a mechanism by which the institution can enhance its international reputation to attract more students.

Limited research focuses specifically on recruitment of IPRSs. The results can support new, regional universities to review and modify their strategies for benefit to students and universities.

This study examines the use of the search engine, Google Scholar, from the perspective of a specific study group, that of international postgraduate students. Based on the theory of task perceived performance and effort expectancy influencing intention to use, further factors of system, individual, social and organisational, in the postgraduate student context are explored.

The questionnaire for the measurement of 11 factors was developed from related studies of e-library use, and data were collected from 200 international postgraduate students studying in the UK. Analysis using confirmatory factor analysis established the contextual influencing factors, and structural equation modeling examined the predicted model.

The findings confirmed the influence of the task-based factors of performance and expectancy and revealed that these were based on the perception of the visibility, accessibility and relevance of the system, and on perceived self-efficacy. The perception postgraduates held of themselves as competent users of Google Scholar was further borne out in the participants' own words when asked for the reason for their preference.

The approach taken enables research into use of search tools to go beyond ease of use as a main driver and to explore the relationship held among the internal and external influences of use. Recommendations for further user research are suggested as well as possible impact on the university library provision and support of services for students.

Brain drain has become a serious problem on the African continent. Most African migrants initially move out of their countries of origin to pursue higher education studies abroad. Encouraging more African students to study within the continent is seen as one way of dealing with the problem. This paper aims at understanding factors influencing African students to undertake postgraduate studies abroad.

Focus group discussions, in‐depth interviews and an online structured questionnaire were the main approaches used for data collection. A sample of 94 international postgraduate students from Africa studying at University of Witwatersrand in South Africa was used in the analysis.

The results show that conditions in both the students' countries of origin and in the possible hosting countries contribute to the decision to study abroad. Of prime importance among the factors attracting students abroad is the need to acquire an education with world‐wide recognition.

The findings have implications for the management of the higher education sector in the continent and the marketing of a country and/or its institutions to international students coming from other African countries.

The paper identifies the factors influencing international student mobility among African students and notes the implications of these on attracting African students wanting to study abroad to do so in countries within the continent.