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This study explores the career concerns that confront mainland Chinese Master's students in Hong Kong, and identifies their needs for career support. Forty mainland Chinese students from a wide range of Master's programmes participated in semi-structured interviews, after which the qualitative data were subjected to phenomenological analysis. The results showed that most interviewees were uncertain about their career paths. The study contributes to the literature by applying the systems theory framework of career development to organize the various factors that give rise to career concerns into three systems: (1) individual; (2) social; and (3) environmental-societal. Four key aspects of the students' career support needs at the institutional level were also identified: information channels, relational networks, technical skills and practical experience. Based on the findings, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications for understanding the career concerns and meeting the needs of Master's students.

This study examines the procedures, criteria, and decision-making in doctoral admissions at China's leading research universities. A content analysis was performed on doctoral admissions texts (N = 312) from 264 faculties of C9 League universities, representing China's elite research-intensive universities. The results show that the admissions procedures tend to highlight previous research and academic merit, which is to be expected for entry to doctoral studies but nonetheless seems to presuppose that all PhD students will follow an academic career path. Several standard practices were found to ensure the rigour and fairness of admissions procedures, such as the adoption of a centralised rather than a decentralised model, the setting of written examinations as a default assessment method, and the highlighting of tangible past achievements, especially pre-doctoral research outputs. There is a lack of supervisor engagement in admissions decision-making, which hinders them from evaluating applicants' potential and degree of fit with their interests. The findings provide evidence of the multiple logics and discourses involved in doctoral admissions in China and offer practical implications for improving the admissions system.

For more than a century, whether or not the research-teaching nexus exists has remained an intensely debated issue in the global academy at both the conceptual and empirical levels. Situating teaching styles within the context of teaching, conceptualizing research agendas as a dimension of research, and using academic self-efficacy as a mediator, the present study empirically investigated the research-teaching nexus. Participants were 256 academics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields from all of the eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong. In the context of participating in the "Academic Profession in the Knowledge-based Society" (APIKS) international survey between late 2017 and early 2018, the participants responded to a short version of the Multi-Dimensional Research Agendas Inventory, a short version of the Research-Teaching Efficacy Inventory, and two scales from the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory. Results showed that academics' research agendas statistically predicted their teaching styles -- after age, gender, academic rank, and institutional ranking were considered. Furthermore, academic self-efficacy, especially research efficacy, provided a pathway from research agendas to one of the two teaching styles examined. Limitations and theoretical contributions of the research are discussed; and practical implications of the research findings are proposed for academics in STEM fields and for university senior managers.

The recent technological revolution, often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or the Second Machine Age, has brought significant changes in both the knowledge production process and its outputs. These changes have raised the question of whether a doctoral degree will retain its unique value as a knowledge creator in the future. In addition, the global challenges confronting society, such as climate change and economic inequality, require a better response from doctoral education and raise the question of whether the current form of doctoral education will meet the demands of future society. Doctoral education might harness technological developments wisely to address these challenges, or it might miss this opportunity and thus lose its valuable role in educating advanced researchers. Based on a critical review of the literature, this paper explores the meaning of the profession in the future at a time of technological revolution and imagines possible future scenarios for doctoral education. The paper applies Ronald Barnett's framework for the imaginative university, focusing on ideological, dystopian, persuasive and utopian universities, and describes the potential changes to doctoral education.

In recognition of the forty-year anniversary of "Higher Education Research & Development," this article reviews the research on higher education and the world of work in the journal, including how 'work' has been defined, prioritised, integrated, and predicted in the field of higher education research. Based on an analysis of published articles from 1982 to 2021 in the journal, this article discusses the complexity of higher education research on the topic of work and learning and the relevance and contribution of the journal's articles to the field. It suggests agendas for future research on higher education and the world of work in the changing social and economic context.

This study explored factors that influence academics to collaborate in research with their doctoral students. It focused on Hong Kong academics, using data from the Academic Profession in Knowledge Society survey conducted in 2017-2018. The study found that academics' research collaboration with doctoral students is influenced by several factors, including research and teaching styles and institutional conditions. Specifically, those academics whose research agendas were characterised by "discovery" and "collaboration" were more likely to report working with their doctoral students, whereas those whose research agendas focused more on "convergence" were less likely to do so. The more "legislative" the academics' teaching style was, the less they collaborated with their doctoral students. Independence in research and institutional expectations of external funding increased the propensity to collaborate with doctoral students. Academics in the humanities were found to collaborate less with their doctoral students than those in other disciplines. The study suggests that the scholarly preference and styles of the academics, as well as their disciplinary and institutional backgrounds, need to be considered to improve research collaboration between academics and their doctoral students.

This study explores student motivation to pursue a master's degree. It also explores how motivation differs based on the students' background, such as his or her study mode or place of origin. Qualitative data were collected through seventy semi-structured interviews of master's students in various programmes in Hong Kong. The results of this study show that there are two main motivations for pursuing the master's degree in current economic and social conditions: intrinsic motivation towards growth and extrinsic motivation to satisfy deficiencies. The paper argues that students decided to pursue a master's degree because of the interplay of different motivations, the patterns of which differed according to the students' particular characteristics. The study's findings expand our understanding of the heterogeneity of current students' backgrounds and their diverse demands for masters-level education. The implications of these motivations are proposed for further discussion.

Amongst all jurisdictions, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has been one of the most effective in limiting cases of COVID-19, despite being one of the first places to be affected by the pandemic in early 2020. In the months since the first case was confirmed, COVID-19 has affected all aspects of Hong Kong society, including the higher education sector. In this collective reflective essay, we describe the effects of these unexpected external events on academics' lives and the responses of higher education institutions. Specifically, we address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on academics, their professional relationships, institutional frameworks, and Hong Kong's higher education sector as a whole. We conclude that the most significant effect of the pandemic is "uncertainty," together with new realities expressed in sayings such as 'living with Zoom, learning from webinars'; 'you will be informed "in due course"', stay calm "until further notice"'; and 'people are stuck, but business is on steroids'. The essay further describes a three-pronged institutional reaction to the pandemic, focused on "control," "support," and "positioning." It concludes with critical views on the way 'useful' knowledge in today's higher education is defined and how concepts and practices have been challenged during the pandemic.

This study explores how master's students perceive their learning experiences and build their identities as postgraduate learners. It also investigates how these students' perceptions affect their aspirations regarding academic careers. By applying the Community of Practice (CoP) framework, this study focuses on three dimensions of master's students' experience; community, practice and identity. Seventy master's students from one research-intensive university in Hong Kong were interviewed regarding motivations for doing a master's degree and reflections on learning. The interview results showed that master's students build their communities partly around shared academic interests. However, the boundaries of these communities are loose and flexible, due to the nature of master's programmes with their short periods of study and large numbers of part-time students. The study also showed how master's students develop their knowledge and skills through doing research and how they evaluate the prospect of becoming an academic.

This study explores Hong Kong university students' concerns when making employment decisions after graduation and their attitudes towards working in mainland China, especially in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Two research questions were identified: What are Hong Kong students' attitudes towards working in the GBA? What factors influence Hong Kong students' employment choices? A qualitative research approach was adopted with semi‐structured interviews with 38 final‐year students from eight Hong Kong universities. Based on thematic analysis, the findings showed that Hong Kong university students' willingness to work in the GBA was mainly influenced by their previous connections with the destination and potential career development opportunities. However, Shenzhen was the only city out of nine in the GBA they considered for employment. University students were aware of the economic rationale for their employment preparation, but, more importantly, they placed a high value on professional development opportunities and work–life balance. They also valued opportunities for internationalisation and emphasised the importance of the work culture and environment in choosing employment. The findings have policy implications for graduate employment and the intra‐mobility of talented young people across GBA cities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer review in journals is in crisis, and its current situation and sustainability are increasingly concerning for academics and scientific communities. We identify this crisis as part of an evolutionary step in the continuous development of science, arguing that peer review maintains a central role. We analyse the emergence and historical development of peer review, identifying its role as crucial to the legitimisation of global science, particularly in guaranteeing quality control in the scientific process of massification—despite its flaws. We then focus on the crisis as part of the recent second wave of massification stemming from 'publish or perish' dynamics, which overburden those involved in peer review management and activities. Based on this crisis and given that the alternative models to peer review rely on the same core ideals, we argue that the current scenario represents a golden opportunity for the peer‐review process to adapt by correcting some of its known biases, becoming more inclusive and relevant, and gaining recognition for its crucial role in career progression and in the training of the researchers of tomorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored Chinese students' motivations for selecting a cross‐border university in China's Guangdong‐Hong Kong‐Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and how they perceive their undergraduate experiences. The GBA was developed as an international economic cluster in China. Despite the vitality of the GBA's international education sector, few studies have focused on individual students' perspectives on cross‐border higher education choices and experiences. We interviewed twenty students and two academics in charge of university admissions about their opinions and reflections concerning a GBA cross‐border university. Students' university choices were linked to different admission profiles, parental influences, institutional features and interactions between students and the institutions. Our study has significant implications for leaders and policymakers in higher education seeking to attract talented university students, improve enrolment and promote students' learning experiences in cross‐border higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent discourse about the fourth industrial revolution has revealed several issues in Korea, suggesting the need for fundamental changes in the industrial structure and higher education systems, which can prepare Korea for potential periods of technological unemployment. For example, labour expenses in Korea are predicted to be rapidly reduced if many jobs are replaced by machines, and the structure of the current manufacturing industry will not exist within the next 10 years. This position paper, based on a document analysis, explores the question: What are the current challenges for South Korea's higher education sector in light of likely shifts in knowledge production due to the fourth industrial revolution? It will be argued that Korea has multiple challenges in terms of its overall industrial structure, labour market and higher education and will have to upgrade the roles of its government, industry and universities in knowledge creation and skill formation to adapt.

Recent developments in higher education have placed greater emphasis on performance and accountability and raised concerns about increasing levels of stress among academics. Stress not only influences academic productivity but may also affect institutional commitment, which is key to guaranteeing academics' organisational stability, identity and performance at the university. This study examines how the stress of academics working in Hong Kong, which has a highly competitive and performativity oriented higher education system, relates to an institutional commitment to their universities. Through the use of a methodology that handles endogeneity bias, this relationship was analysed using socio-demographic data, information on characteristics of the institutional environment, and academic-work-related data from the Academic Profession in Knowledge Society (APIKS) questionnaire conducted in Hong Kong in 2017/2018. The main finding of this study is that the more the job becomes a strain, the greater the academic's institutional commitment to the university. We argue that stress was positively associated with greater institutional commitment due to Hong Kong's competitive working culture, as no statistically significant differences in stress and institutional commitment were found among those in different academic fields of knowledge and universities. Analysis of determinants of stress and institutional commitment showed that independence in research, interest in current work, availability of career opportunities, and collegial decision-making reduced stress and increased institutional commitment. Conversely, pressure to obtain external funding and excessive administrative work increase stress and reduce institutional commitment. Based on these findings, universities should institute balanced policies that promote research autonomy, collegiality and flexible career opportunities in academic work, whilst designing new ways to more congenially integrate the ubiquitous demand for external funding into academic life, and minimising administrative procedures which are not attuned with creative academic environments.

The aim of this study is to explore the various factors involved in pursuing a master's degree for university graduates in South Korea. After reviewing theoretical frameworks, including human and social capital theories, an analytical model was constructed to examine the different academic and economic factors involved in pursuing a master's degree, considering different institutional backgrounds. The data used were collected from the Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey conducted by the Korean Employment Information Service. We obtained the data from 11,960 respondents who graduated from university in 2013. Descriptive statistics and logistics regression were used in the analysis. The results show that gender, age and family socioeconomic status affected students' decision to pursue a master's degree. In addition, academic background factors, such as discipline, satisfaction with undergraduate study and intrinsic motivation for the choice of major, had positive effects on enrolment in master's degrees. However, active participation in the job search process during undergraduate study had negative effects on the decision. Students in research universities in major cities were more likely to pursue a master's degree than those in teaching-oriented universities in local provinces. This study has implications for the motivations, demands and career paths of postgraduate students taking master's degrees.

This research pioneered the investigation of the role of doctoral students' thinking styles in their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. Participants were 285 STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) students in Hong Kong. Results showed that students' thinking styles as measured by the Thinking Styles Inventory--Revised II (Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2007) statistically significantly predicted their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence as assessed by two of the scales in the newly constructed Graduate Student Survey (Shin et al., 2015)--beyond their gender, program year, and academic discipline. Findings have brought new insights into the assessment of doctoral students' program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. At the same time, findings have contributed to the literature on intellectual styles and that on doctoral education in STEM fields. Practical implications of the findings are proposed for STEM doctoral students in understanding their own ways of thinking and program experiences and outcomes, as well as for academics and senior managers in their efforts to enhance students' access to positive program experiences and outcomes.

Although previous research has explored the impact of global and local forces on transnational higher education (TNHE) at a macro level, limited attention has been paid to students’ lived experiences navigating the mixed influences. To address the research gap, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 Chinese undergraduates enrolled in two Sino-foreign cooperative universities (SFCUs). From the theoretical lens of paradox, this study revealed the inherent tensions in the dynamic and hybrid educational practices at SFCUs, arising from the internationalisation of higher education with Chinese characteristics. The overlapping values of cosmopolitanism, nationalism, neoliberalism, and authoritarianism have repercussions on the programme structure, academic discourse, and university management. The findings indicate that students negotiated the tensions in various manners, including following the prevailing discourse, challenging the global imagery, and recognising the complexity of situation. The presence of conflicting influences led some students to develop hierarchical binary thinking towards knowledge and elicit ambivalent emotions towards institutions, while others achieved a wholeness of self through self-reflection. This study contributes to a new scholarly perspective on exploring students’ unique experiences in TNHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the research productivity of Hong Kong academics. Specifically, it explores the individual and institutional factors that contribute to their productivity while also comparing determinants across academic disciplines. We have conducted OLS regression analysis using the international survey data from "The Changing Academics Profession." We found that Hong Kong academics are highly internationalized in terms of research activities. Moreover, research productivity is influenced by a number of factors, including personal characteristics, workload, differences in research styles, and institutional characteristics. In addition, considerable variation exists regarding the determinants of research productivity across disciplinary categories.

This article explores how the past mobilities of academics affect their current research output (and its multidisciplinarity). Five types of mobility are used simultaneously in the analysis. Field mobility and transnational educational mobility are associated with academics' educational path, whereas transnational job mobility, intra-sectoral job mobility and inter-sectoral job mobility refer to their career path. The analysis is based on a representative sample of academics based in Hong Kong and Macau. Results show that intra-sectoral job mobility (up to a threshold) and transnational job mobility positively affect research output and its multidisciplinarity, whereas inter-sectoral job mobility, field mobility and transnational educational mobility exert slight or no effect. Nested analyses of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM academics as well as experienced and junior academics offer further insight into the roles of these mobilities. Impacts of mobile experience were stronger among junior than senior academics, and in STEM fields than non-STEM fields. The article discusses these findings along with the significance of considering mobilities rather than mobility when analysing academic trajectories and the determinants of academic research production.

This study focuses on doctoral students' professionalisation as future academics across academic disciplines, using a Hong Kong research-oriented university as a case study. Doctoral students acquire the norms, knowledge/skills, and values required for the academic profession through their learning experiences. The study aims to explore how doctoral students perceive their professional competences and what are the major factors of learning experiences influencing perceived competencies among them. Data collection of the study is based on a questionnaire designed by international team members in a previous project entitled "A Comparative Study of Doctoral Education in Asian Flagship Universities." Drawing on data from 490 respondents in Hong Kong, the current study uses descriptive and regression analyses to examine and compare the factors influencing doctoral students' perceived competencies in terms of tasks, ideas and attitudes. The results show that the competencies of doctoral students are influenced by various factors, such as curricula, supervision style and learning culture. Overall, the study suggests that the formal and informal learning experiences of doctoral students must be carefully designed and implemented to foster the development of their professional knowledge, skills and values.

With an increasing number of international students in South Korea, the issue of retaining these students and reducing their dropout rates has become important. This study explores the multilevel factors that affect the institutional dropout rate among international students in Korea. The research questions are as follows: (a) to what extent do international students drop out from undergraduate or short-term programmes in Korean universities?; (b) what are the regional and institutional factors that determine international students' dropout rates? This study uses the panel data on educational institutions as found in the "Higher Education in Korea" report, which has been updated annually by the Ministry of Education since 2013. According to the pooled ordinary least square and panel analyses, the results indicate that a range of institutional factors (such as type, size, tuition and research performance of academics) and regional factors (such as regional gross domestic product, inflation and the numbers of foreigners in the region) are all associated with the dropout rates of international students. This study suggests that we need to consider various factors to improve the international students' learning experiences both inside and outside of the campus.

The aim of this study is to explore the learning experiences of students enrolled on a Doctorate in Education programme in Hong Kong. The main questions are as follows. How do EdD students position themselves as doctoral candidates? How do EdD students experience their education in terms of scholarly expertise and scholarly identity? How do EdD students characterise their relationships with their supervisors? What perceptions do PhD students hold of the field of knowledge of EdD students and the value of an EdD degree? The data obtained from 10 semi-structured interviews in one selected institution are discussed with reference to the four main themes; distinction between EdD and PhD degrees: 'co-existent' vs. 'separate'; positioning of EdD programme: title of doctor as 'unfair' vs. 'deserved'; scholarly value: 'insightful' vs. 'non-academic'; and relationship with supervisor: 'independent and self-managed' vs. 'never equal, unlike the relationship between PhD student and supervisor'.

The aim of this study is to explore work experiences and knowledge transfer among Korean academics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In particular, the study addresses the ways in which academics from different generations develop their work experiences and how these experiences influence their knowledge transfer. The research questions are as follows. (1) To what extent do academics' work experiences and knowledge transfer differ between generations? (2) What factors influence academics' knowledge transfer, and do these factors differ by generation? The study uses multiple data sources: (1) the Korean Researcher Information service provided by the National Research Foundation of Korea; (2) the Korean Citation Index, Web of Science and Scopus for publication data, (3) the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service; (4) a higher education database provided by the Ministry of Education, Korea and (5) an international comparative survey entitled 'The Changing Academic Profession'. The results show that the training for academics in STEM fields in Korea has evolved over the last three decades. Their work experiences have changed, ranging from work in industry to work for public research institutes and postdoctoral fellowships. These experiences differ by generation, which also affects academics' knowledge transfer.