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

part-time MSc in subsea engineering sponsored by his UK employer, whom he first 
joined partly to offset his first degree costs. In the long term he wishes to work in the 
Middle East in oil and gas exploration.

I90 studied computer science at Newcastle and took advantage of the work experience 
placement allowed through her visa. On graduation she joined a software company and 
was now a senior executive. She was thinking of studying for an MBA here too, 
wanting to maximise her gains before returning to Nigeria with her husband. 

I88 undertook an MSc in signal processing at Strathclyde and subsequently a PhD in 
Dublin before returning to Kings London for a research position related to MRI cancer 
imaging. He expected this to lead to other research positions abroad and ultimately 
hoped to become a scientist / entrepreneur. 

Chevening Scholar I28 took an MSc in operational communications at Coventry to try 
to differentiate herself and progress in the IT sector in Mexico. After a frustrating period 
trying to get an appropriate job on return to Mexico, she came back to the UK with a 
Mexican company and has been deployed on strategic international projects in IT and 
communications infrastructure. In the medium term she wished to return to Mexico and 
teach in a university: 
“I spent eight months trying to get a job [in Mexico]. I got 
recommendations from my teachers here but when it comes with the government the 
reply cycle is that I was 29 and I was overqualified. And that it was going to be very 
difficult for me as a woman to be in a team that was composed of men”.

I83 had planned to return to China after international business law Masters at Leeds 
but stayed temporarily as the Chinese boyfriend she met here had yet to complete his 
PhD. He subsequently joined ICI and she joined a Chinese logistics and immigration 
company in the UK, where she was an immigration consultant assisting transitions for 
Chinese people coming to the UK.
A smaller number of those currently employed in the UK did wish to remain here 
permanently, and stated in the interviews that they would seek citizenship or residency, 
including I45 who had started an engineering degree at Nottingham’s Malaysian campus 
but transferred to Nottingham itself, and afterwards worked in a succession of aerospace 
supply chain companies. She now worked for Rolls-Royce and would soon be eligible to 
apply for residency: 
“I’m an integrated project team leader… I have got designers in Germany and 
engineers in America, and I have travelled for work before to both places. My supply 
chain is global, so occasionally, I have to meet with the overseas supply chain”
.
The third group was a small number of female graduates had remained in the UK long-
term through marriage to a UK national, either somebody they met during their HE study or 
in one case beforehand. For example Canadian alumnus I16 studied global and political 
economy at Sussex and initially returned to Canada to work for a healthcare charity with 
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The Wider Benefits of International Higher Education in the UK 
her Welsh partner. They subsequently returned to the UK with his job, where I16 now 
worked at a senior level in the health and social care sector.