Bis research paper number 128 The wider benefits of international higher education in the uk

“I’m not sure 
with just the degree, without the additional work experience, if I would’ve been led into 
the managerial position I immediately got on my return to South Africa.”

Chilean alumnus I21 had been working in the finance sector but during the financial 
crisis sold his car and took out loans to study an MSc in finance at Manchester. On 
return he obtained a job elsewhere in Chile and then a more senior role in the central 
bank, where he earned 50% more than he had before study abroad, and has been able 
to pay off his loan. His level of English and his Manchester degree 
“differentiated” 
him. 

I48 obtained a good post with a Singaporean bank almost immediately on his return to 
Hong Kong after a statistics MSc at Sheffield. Citing the benefits of the content of his 
qualification, the well-known UK institution and his improved language skills, he 
expected to advance further in the financial sector. 

With an MSc in development economics from Oxford, New Zealander I64 commented 
that since returning she had been offered every job she had applied for, including a 
later change in sector. She put this down not only to the prestigious university but also 
her proven ability to engage and work in different international settings and overcome 
personal challenges. 

I78 had worked in accounting in India but came to Cardiff for an MBA. On return he got 
his dream job with a global consultancy and since moved to other multinationals. He 
felt the UK MBA had a big impact on his career progression and earnings, chiefly 
enabling him to think more strategically. 

After his PhD in economics at Cambridge, I100 obtained posts in the World Bank and 
the IMF, where he felt he had credibility amongst many other such elite alumni, before 
returning to his native China to work in a director level role for the national bank.

I33 was a highly artistic student in Brazil and attended Central St Martins (University of 
the Arts London) for a fine art BA. While in London her work was spotted by influential 
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The Wider Benefits of International Higher Education in the UK 
people in the art world, leading to personal international exhibits and the subsequent 
launch of her personal career as a video/multimedia artist, now with her own studio and 
label in Brazil.
Several graduates reported that their taught postgraduate course directly enabled their 
progression to a subsequent PhD, which in most of these cases was in a third country 
rather than the UK. For example, I15 had been a teacher in Kenya but won a 
Commonwealth Scholarship for an MSc at the University of the West of Scotland. He was 
now completing a PhD in New Zealand on ecology and agriculture, with a mission to return 
home and develop sustainable policies to ensure that Kenyans make better use of their 
resources and can feed themselves. 
Others found that their British undergraduate degree facilitated their passage to a taught 
Masters course in the UK. I39 from Brunei studied for a B.Ed at Stirling and then moved to 
a Masters in EFL at Birmingham, before returning to become Head of the Inspectorate 
section of the Islamic Education Department.
Those who were working in their family’s businesses understandably did not see their UK 
HE experience as directly contributing to securing their employment. However, several of 
them reported that they felt they were able to operate at a more effective and mature level 
with that experience, and to bring new insights to these businesses.
As may have been noted within some of these examples, another career impact for alumni 
was the influence of their study in UK HE as a catalyst for a change in career direction. 
This was reported by nearly as many graduates as reported enhanced career progression, 
so only a few of the many examples can be given here. Some had set up their own 
businesses, as a result of the greater self-confidence and broader perspectives that 
resulted from their HE study, but for most others the experience appeared to catalyse 
them into pursuing a more personally satisfying career direction, which in many cases also 
had a distinct societal aspect. In some cases the content of the HE course directly 
supported the new career direction, but this was by no means always the case, suggesting 
that the overall experience could be equally or more important.

Interviewee I2 worked for a multinational financial firm for two years back in India but 
then opened his own company, citing a large rise in confidence as a result of his study 
in the UK. 

I8 had been a journalist in Brazil before undertaking an MA in fashion journalism at 
University of the Arts London. On return she obtained a fashion job but then decided to 
set up her own fashion label and company: 
“The MA was related to what I really would 
like to do, working with fashion. And I just had the courage to, when I got back to 
Brazil, to decide okay, I think I really would like to work with it, it’s not a dream 
anymore, so I can have it. I opened my own company with this partner… Also I think 
the UK culture is really ‘[you can] do it yourself’ and ‘go ahead’.”

Chinese I47 had intended to work as an engineer in his father’s factory in China but 
after his advanced engineering MSc at Manchester developed a career in education 
and consulting, working for the largest provider of educational services in China. He put 
this down largely to his UK experience which made him a much more open-minded 
person, as well as one who thinks more critically. 
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The Wider Benefits of International Higher Education in the UK 

Colombian 
medical 
doctor 
I56 studied an MSc in London in health policy planning and 
finance as he hoped to have a bigger impact in Colombia by moving into health policy. 
On return he obtained a job in the ministry and was able to utilise his understanding of 
the UK health system in policy work in that local environment: 
“When I came back to 
[Colombia]…then I started working here in the ministry. Here I really applied what I 
studied [in London]. So it was very important for me; now, my life is completely 
different than what I did before. A very, very big impact.” 

I62 was a successful mid-career civil servant in Brazil but came to Loughborough to 
study development, accompanied by his young family. He worked temporarily in the UK 
in technical consultancies but then returned to Brazil to become a university professor. 

Having worked in Mexico in television, I73 undertook an MA in communications at 
Westminster. He returned to recession-hit Mexico but after a period working in the 
largest university was hired as a PA to a Senator, and then returned to the HE sector to 
head up a university’s cultural affairs department. 

I72 was another relatively ‘mature’ student, coming to the UK from China having been 
an art teacher and working in government. After a Masters at the London College of 
Communication, she obtained a job with a US company in China but subsequently 
became marketing director for a multinational fashion retail company, earning at 5-6 
times her previous level and enjoying worldwide travel.