Enhancing the Experience & Outcomes of International HDR Candidates: A guide for Supervisors

Australian universities host more than 20,000 international higher degree research (HDR) candidates, which constitute around 32 percent of the total HDR cohort. This presents both a potential for transnational research development and a challenge for HDR supervision.

Further, with the increasing mobility of the academic workforce, intercultural supervisory teams are increasingly prevalent. This cultural diversity requires new thinking about HDR supervision.

International HDR candidates can make original contributions to knowledge and the advancement of research in their host universities as well as to the development of cultural awareness and transnational networks. However, international candidates and supervisors continue to report substantial challenges in successfully negotiating intercultural supervisory relationships.

This guide outlines seven good practice principles for supervisors working with international HDR candidates.

About the Authors

Associate Professor Ly Thi Tran, Deakin University
Dr Wendy Green, The University of Tasmania
LiLy Nguyen, The University of Melbourne

Higher Degree Research

This project was funded by IEAA and published in July 2017. The authors wish to acknowledge the support of Deakin University and the University of Tasmania for the development of this digest and the accompanying guides.

Australia hosts more than 20,000 international higher degree research (HDR) candidates, which constitutes around 32 per cent of the total HDR cohort (DET, 2017). Many universities around the globe are now strategically focusing on increasing their number of international HDR candidates.

International HDR candidates can make original contributions to knowledge and the enrichment of research as well as to the development of cultural understandings and transnational networks in their host universities. However, many of these potential contributions often remain under-recognised and international HDR candidates continue to report substantial challenges in successfully completing their studies.

This research digest, and accompanying guides, explore the concept of reciprocal intercultural supervision. The guides focus on three key stakeholders: