Institutional prestige, academic supervision and research productivity of international PhD students: Evidence from Chinese returnees

2021 ◽  
pp. 144078332110552
Author(s):  
Wenqin Shen ◽  
Jin Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Doctoral Degrees ◽  
Academic Productivity ◽  
University Rankings ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Institutional Prestige ◽  
League Tables ◽  
Global University ◽  
Support Students

Since the emergence of global university rankings in the 2000s, East Asian universities have been recruiting academics with doctoral degrees from Western countries to strengthen their competitiveness in the global university league tables. Governments offer scholarships to support students in their overseas doctoral studies and encourage graduates to return. Although much attention is given to researchers with overseas degrees, little is known about their experiences and pre-employment academic productivity. Drawing on a nationwide survey and bibliometric data, this study examines whether and how the institutional prestige of a host university and academic supervision contribute to the academic productivity of government-funded Chinese PhD returnees during their doctoral studies. Results show that supervisors’ research support and collaboration positively affect pre-employment academic productivity. However, a university's prestige does not exert such an influence. Moreover, co-authorship with a supervisor is a crucial mechanism in the influence of supervisors’ research support on PhD students’ productivity.

How Rankings Produce Competition: The Case of Global University Rankings

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Brankovic ◽  
Leopold Ringel ◽  
Tobias Werron
Keyword(s):  
University Rankings ◽  
Global University

ZusammenfassungDer Zusammenhang zwischen Rankings und Konkurrenz wird häufig unterstellt, aber selten genauer untersucht. Der vorliegende Aufsatz geht ihm am Beispiel globaler Universitätsrankings nach. Ausgehend von einem soziologischen Verständnis von Konkurrenz bestimmen wir „Ranken“ als eine soziale Operation, die vier Teiloperationen miteinander kombiniert: Vergleich von Leistungen, Quantifizierung, Visualisierung, und wiederholte Publikation. Visualisierung und Publikation stehen für die in der Literatur bisher kaum berücksichtigte performative Dimension von Rankings, die für die Analyse des Zusammenhangs zwischen Rankings und Konkurrenz von zentraler Bedeutung ist. Auf dieser Grundlage zeigen wir, wie globale Universitätsrankings zur Konstruktion von Konkurrenz beitragen: durch (a) Globalisierung eines spezifischen Exzellenzdiskurses; (b) Verknappung von Reputation; (c) Transformation einer stabilen in eine dynamische Statusordnung. Wir schließen mit einer Diskussion von Implikationen dieser Analyse für die soziologische Erforschung von Konkurrenz und ihrer gesellschaftlichen Effekte.

scholarly journals Open Access in UCL: A New Paradigm for London's Global University in Research Support

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ayris ◽  
Erica McLaren ◽  
Martin Moyle ◽  
Catherine Sharp ◽  
Lara Speicher
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Global University

scholarly journals The Agile Approach with Doctoral Dissertation Supervision

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Göran Wallgren Tengberg
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Doctoral Dissertation ◽  
Doctoral Degrees ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Supervision Process ◽  
Agile Approach ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Teaching Learning

<p class="apa">Several research findings conclude that many doctoral students fail to complete their studies within the allowable time frame, in part because of problems related to the research and supervision process. Surveys show that most doctoral students are generally satisfied with their dissertation supervision. However, these surveys also reveal some students think their supervisors meet with them too infrequently, lack interest in their dissertation topics, and provide insufficient practical assistance. Furthermore, many countries will soon witness a large turnover in the labour market as people near retirement. Because this is also the case at many universities and colleges, the expectation is that there will be many teaching and research vacancies. Therefore, many new doctoral students who plan to enter academia after earning their doctoral degrees are needed. In responding to these complaints, this conceptual paper examines the use of the agile approach–which has achieved recognition and approval in software development–in the doctoral dissertation process. In the teaching/learning sphere, the agile approach can be used in iterative meetings between doctoral student and supervisor for dissertation planning, direction, and evaluation. The focus of the iterations, the so-called Sprints, is on communication and feedback throughout the entire process. The paper is based in theories on teaching/learning and on the author’s personal experience with the agile approach. Use of the agile approach, which can decrease the time required for doctoral studies, may thus increase the number of graduates with doctoral degrees. The paper makes suggestions for practical implementation of the agile approach.</p>

The Impact of Scale and Scope on Global University Rankings

2017 ◽  
pp. 140-160
Author(s):  
Liang-Cheng Zhang ◽  
Andrew C. Worthington
Keyword(s):  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Private Universities ◽  
University Rankings ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Global University ◽  
Teaching Programs ◽  
Institutional Reputation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training

Economies of scale and scope are increasingly critical for universities operating in globally competitive higher education teaching, research and training markets. This is because the associated cost advantages could enable some institutions to increase their university rankings relatively easier. This chapter investigates the relationships between economies of scale (measured by the number of enrollments) and scope (measured by the number of teaching programs), research performance, and institutional reputation (measured by the ARWU and QS ranking scores). The results show that larger and more diverse institutions tend to have higher scores. However, when separated into public and private universities, the scale and scope effects are not so obvious between private universities and the ARWU ranking scores. Nevertheless, the chapter does identify a significant scope effect in the QS rankings for private institutions, implying that expanding research, teaching, and training programs may benefit these scores.

Global University Rankings From Afar

2016 ◽  
pp. 38-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Bernasconi ◽  
Daniela Véliz
Keyword(s):  
University Rankings ◽  
Global University
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