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Postgraduate business education in the higher educational institutions in Japan was poorly developed, and lagged far behind not only the other advanced economies, but in some of the developing countries until the end of the 1980s. However, during the 1990s it has undergone considerable changes as part of the reform in postgraduate education in Japan. This article attempts to explain why MBA education did not develop in Japan in the first place, and then how these changes came about. It also looks at the changes in social and economic backgrounds that promoted and speeded these changes. Finally it attempts to view the future of postgraduate professional education in Japan.

This viewpoint paper aims to propose a digital and research literacy support program for postgraduate schools in sub-Saharan Africa institutions.

The paper reviewed literature on postgraduate students’ skills and postgraduate information literacy programs and proposed one for postgraduate schools in sub-Saharan Africa institutions.

Information literacy programs are not implemented at the postgraduate level in sub-Saharan Africa possibly because of lack of contents for these programs.

The course is only a proposed course that can be embedded into the postgraduate curriculum in sub-Saharan African universities. The effectiveness of the course has not been evaluated in this study.

The proposed information literacy program focused on digital and research literacy, which is still relatively new in sub-Saharan Africa.

This study identifies the factors that postgraduate service management programs (PSMPs) in Korean Universities can use to gain competitive advantage.

A mixed-method approach was adopted in serial order to verify the role of PSMP identity in the relationship between education service quality and student satisfaction established in prior research. Study 1 is a case study designed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the PSMPs in Korea using data derived through a document review of the sources collected from the official websites of PSMPs. In Study 2, focus group interviews were conducted with students and graduates of PSMPs to gain new insights that would help attain competitive advantage. Finally, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Study 3 to statistically test the relationship between PSMP identity, education service quality and student satisfaction.

Education service quality has a positive impact on PSMP identity, PSMP identity has a positive impact on student satisfaction and PSMP identity mediates the aforementioned impacts. The results established PSMP identity as a key factor in enhancing its competitiveness.

Since PSMPs have a short history and are limited number of cases in Korea, their justification is not well-understood by the general public and companies. This problem is not limited to PSMPs but is also shared by other specialized postgraduate programs. With comprehensive data on and new insights into PSMPs, including the determinants of competitive advantage, the results provide basic evidence for follow-up research and useful information for administrative officers in charge of specialized postgraduate programs.

The authors describe the challenges and opportunities associated with developing an interdisciplinary sustainability programme in an emerging economy and illustrate how these are addressed through the approach taken for the development of the first postgraduate programme (MSc and PhD) in sustainability science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The purpose of this paper is to outline an approach that has a potential for application in other parts of Latin America and perhaps more broadly in other world regions sharing some of the same challenges and opportunities as found in Mexico.

The implemented collaborative framework enabled a transformation of disciplinary research and teaching at UNAM into a postgraduate programme designed to generate cutting-edge educational and research capabilities. The approach to curriculum and programme design emphasized the process and methodological framework for curriculum development as much as the outcome itself. It entailed three primary elements: theory on collaborative processes; the curriculum design approach; and a formative and summative evaluation.

Several of the challenges faced were related to the nature of the institution (mainly because of the complexity of its organization and the emphasis in maintaining disciplinary boundaries), as well as to the curriculum development and design approach (acceptance of a competency-based programme appropriate for the MSc but considered restrictive for the PhD). The experience the authors relate in this paper exemplifies how to cope with such challenges. The approach enabled the emergence of a shared vision that was appropriated by all the participants. This ultimately empowered them in the presentation of the curriculum to their disciplinary peers. Furthermore, the approach facilitated the creation of a programme that remained salient along the process, while increasingly gained legitimacy and credibility among the academic community.

In Mexico, the number of sustainability practitioners and scientists is still insufficient, and there is a clear lack of capacities in key themes and tools. UNAM combines a strong scientific tradition and a foundational mandate to serve both the country and humanity and is, thus, a natural platform for developing a higher education programme in sustainability science. The approach taken in the development of UNAM’s programme has useful lessons for the development of similar programmes in other developing nations facing similar educational and institutional challenges.

This model not only resulted in an innovative and novel programme in sustainability education but also, in the process, strengthened the competencies of diverse stakeholders through a systematic collaborative framework that fosters sustainability as a social learning process. Such experience illustrates the advantages of implementing a collaborative approach to enable the emergence of a critical mass capable to handle the diversity presupposed by a curriculum in sustainability science. It also shows how such a collaborative process can be implemented to overcome the limited resources, lack of experience in sustainability education and strong disciplinary focus that hampers the advancement of higher education in institutions similar to UNAM.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from research that explored the influence of contextual factors on the adoption and development of Electronic Theses and Dissertation (ETD) programmes in the Arab Gulf States.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of five groups of stakeholders with an interest in the implementation of ETD programmes. The groups were postgraduate students, academic staff, library managers, system administrators, and postgraduate officers from five Gulf States universities. In addition, an online survey was conducted with 309 participants in order to test and explore, in a larger sample, the issues identified in the interviews.

Research participants identified three levels of factors; contextual, institutional, and personal. In addition, they highlighted that contextual factors have an influence on institutional factors. These contextual factors include misunderstanding of plagiarism, strong economy, recencey of research programmes, and younger societies. For example, due to the recencey of postgraduate programmes in the Arab Gulf States, some of the theses and dissertations are low in quality and quantity. The Arab Gulf States have strong economies and this helped to provide the necessary technological infrastructure needed for adopting ETD programmes. Since the Gulf societies are quite young they are more likely to adopt new technologies. In addition, people at these states appear to have a weak understanding of plagiarism issues and thus they have more concerns about these issues.

This paper provides insights about the factors influencing the adoption and development of ETD programmes in the Arab Gulf States.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the state of enterprise education and skills training at postgraduate level at UK higher education institutions (HEIs).

A case-study research strategy was used to address the lack of existing research on enterprise training for postgraduate researchers (PGRs). The initial task was to identify those UK universities which provide enterprise and entrepreneurship training for their PGRs. Based on this desk exercise, five universities were selected according to the nature and structure of their training programmes and geographical spread such that one university was included from Wales, Scotland, South of England, Midlands and North of England. The next stage of the research focused on gaining in-depth understanding of the enterprise training available to PRGs at selected universities through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with key personnel responsible for the design and management of PGR enterprise education programmes. The data collected were analysed using the Rugby Team Impact Framework to explore the training and development provision and structure, internal and external profile raising and awareness, staff and skills required, research-based practices, the reaction of participants, behaviour and outcomes, stakeholder engagement and on-going strategy.

The paper highlights the current best practices in enterprise education for PGRs. It identified key factors contributing to the success of selected programmes including the development of objectives, the modes and pedagogy of delivery and the involvement of stakeholders.

The results of the research enable universities across the UK to drive the development of a suite of learning opportunities tailored to the needs of the PGR population in order to overcome barriers to engagement and best promote entrepreneurial activity – both within employment and as new venture creation – as appropriate career options.

The paper contributes to the limited literature concerning the state of enterprise training for PGRs which provides a detail analysis of current provisions useful for benchmarking and planning purposes and which can be useful to researchers and enterprise education providers.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the ways in which postgraduate study in vocational fields supports the development of advanced competences amongst mid‐career professionals.

The extensive written communications between health and safety professionals taking a postgraduate course in health and safety management and their tutor were investigated to determine the competence domains where learning was taking place or attempted. The individual written communications were analysed and each issue raised allocated to a learning area. The quantitative results for each area were determined. The learning areas were assigned to one or more competence development domains.

The quantified results demonstrate that the main domain where mid‐career professionals on this postgraduate course were most strongly challenged to learn and develop in advanced competences was the meta‐competence domain on the Cheetham and Chivers model.

This study was based on written communications passing between a limited number of students and one tutor on a single postgraduate study programme. There is clearly great scope to extend this form of research given the large number of postgraduate vocational study programmes now undertaken by mid‐career professionals.

Tutors need to focus strongly on supporting the very demanding learning leading to the growth of meta‐competencies. Given the ready availability of relevant factual information to mid‐career professionals in the information age, there is much less need to focus on teaching facts, although supporting the interpretation and application of such factual information by students retains great importance.

Few other studies exist which attempt to analyse written communications between tutors and postgraduate students on professional/vocational courses in terms of how such courses are developing professional competences.

The focus of this study is the development of effective user education programs that will enhance the use of electronic information resources (EIR) in an era of electronic information for the students of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, which consequently could be adapted for students in other higher institutions of learning.

This study was carried out during the first semester of the 2010/2011 academic session (November 2010 to February 2011), employing a survey method. The target population is postgraduate students (postgraduate diploma, Master's degree and Doctor of Philosophy students) of the seven colleges that run postgraduate programs at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Of a total population of 330 postgraduate students, 250 postgraduate students were selected randomly using a purposive sampling technique since the student population was not evenly distributed across the colleges. Administration and retrieval of the questionnaire lasted for six weeks.

The findings of this study have shown that the user education program of Nimbe Adedipe Library is not adequate; the library provides more library orientation than bibliographic instruction and information literacy skills. It was also found that few of the students received training on EIR usage while an analysis of the open‐ended questions revealed that the students got to know how to use electronic resources through their own efforts, periodic training in the library, and through the efforts of some library staff and friends. It was also found that use of EIR has a great impact on the respondents' academic activities, as reflected in their responses, where the students agreed that their academic work would suffer without the use of EIR.

It is the belief of the researchers that empirical research on the use of library resources is crucial for the design and implementation of user education programs.

The results of this study will be a meaningful addition to the literature of library and information science in the area of user studies.

The English-speaking Caribbean is currently at a crossroads regarding the education and training of home-grown psychologists meeting the ever-increasing demands for mental health care in the region. This paper recommends an innovative approach to build capacity in mental health care in the English-speaking Caribbean that will require partnerships between the regional university, experienced registered practising psychologists, professional resources in the diaspora, public health and education institutions, which will produce trained clinical supervisors, PhD psychologists and improved mental health services in the region.

Documents about the postgraduate programmes in psychology from the regional university were sourced. PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar were searched for the English language published articles using the key phrases psychology AND/OR psychologist AND/OR education AND training AND mental health. Searches of the reference lists of included articles were also undertaken.

Postgraduate psychology programmes in the region have become stalled at the master’s level. Meanwhile, doctoral-level training is being sought outside the Caribbean largely due to the lack of availability of trained clinical supervisors. Moreover, training outside the region may lead to deficits regarding cultural relevance of practices, as well as impede the overall development of Caribbean psychology.

This paper provides insights into the current practice of education and training for Caribbean postgraduate psychology students and the implications for the development of the practice of psychology in the region. Recommendations for educational and training strategies are provided.

The proposed framework presented will help upgrade experienced master’s-level trained psychologists to PhDs with training in clinical supervision through Research Advancing Intensive Supervision Education (RAISE) doctoral programmes and can cultivate improved mental health services with a wider reach across the Caribbean.

Raising the training standards of the psychologists, preparing clinical supervisors and increasing access to practicum sites will improve the trajectories of psychologists within the English-speaking Caribbean and the mental health of the population. Such changes will help to ensure the use of culturally appropriate therapies with Caribbean clientele. There are many social implications for capacity building within the practice and research domains of the preparation of psychologists. For example, increased access to psychological care, improved well-being of citizens, decreased prevalence of work absenteeism and improved management of citizens’ mental health and well-being.

This paper provides insights into the current practice of education and training for Caribbean postgraduate psychology students and the implications for the development of the practice of psychology in the region. Recommendations for educational and training strategies are provided. The proposed organising framework presented offers a new conceptual model that can be used to guide the capacity building of psychologists within the English-speaking Caribbean. The proposed framework will help upgrade experienced master’s-level trained psychologists to PhDs with training in clinical supervision through RAISE doctoral programmes and can cultivate improved mental health services with a wider reach across the Caribbean.

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRAFFITI is a highly personal and revealing account of the first ten years (1965–1975) at Britain’s University Business Schools. The progress achieved is documented in a whimsical fashion that makes it highly readable. Gordon Wills has been on the inside throughout the decade and has played a leading role in two of the major Schools. Rather than presuming to present anything as pompous as a complete history of what has happened, he recalls his reactions to problems, issues and events as they confronted him and his colleagues. Lord Franks lit a fuse which set a score of Universities and even more Polytechnics alight. There was to be a bold attempt to produce the management talent that the pundits of the mid‐sixties so clearly felt was needed. Buildings, books, teachers who could teach it all, and students to listen and learn were all required for the boom to happen. The decade saw great progress, but also a rapid decline in the relevancy ethic. It saw a rapid withering of interest by many businessmen more accustomed to and certainly desirous of quick results. University Vice Chancellors, theologians and engineers all had to learn to live with the new and often wealthier if less scholarly faculty members who arrived on campus. The Research Councils had to decide how much cake to allow the Business Schools to eat. Most importantly, the author describes the process of search he went through as an individual in evolving a definition of his own subject and how it can best be forwarded in a University environment. It was a process that carried him from Technical College student in Slough to a position as one of the authorities on his subject today.