Mobile student to mobile worker

The role of universities in the ‘war for talent’

Bibliographic Data

ID11166369
AuthorsZhen Li (0000-0001-6541-2610, University of Nottingham), John Lowe (0000-0002-8468-9276, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume37
Issue1
Pages11-29
Publication date2016-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01425692.2015.1095636
OpenAlexW2217180874
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited52

Universities, as part of the neoliberal regime imposed on them, are being co-opted into a 'war for talent', in which national economic success is heavily invested. We examine part of this 'war' that affects universities directly – the recruitment of 'the brightest and the best' internationally mobile students and their subsequent retention by the host country as high-skill workers. After an account of this war for talent and its implications for higher education, we review the literature on study-migration transitions by international students and identify gaps in both data and theorization. We propose a three-part model that uses the notion of 'flows' to organize a research agenda in this field and the possible roles of universities in implementing it. We conclude that only by resisting full recruitment into this global talent war can academic researchers continue to maintain the integrity and value of their professional and disciplinary calling

Discipline · Field (mathematics · Higher education · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Higher Education and Employability · Higher Education Governance and Development · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Law

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