This project is led by Dr Bing LuLink opens in a new window, based in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Warwick and is funded by the Newer Researcher Award 2023 from the Society for Research into Higher Education (SHRE). It explores how migrant supervisors—academics who obtained their doctorates outside the UK—experience and engage with supervisor development programmes in UK universities. In the context of an increasingly international academic workforce, the study examines how diverse doctoral education backgrounds shape supervision practices and institutional training responses.

As universities become more globally connected, there is a growing presence of internationally trained academics in doctoral supervisory roles. However, supervisor development programmes are often designed around national norms and expectations. This project was launched to explore whether and how these programmes acknowledge and support the diverse supervision experiences of migrant academics.

• To investigate how migrant supervisors learn and adapt their practices through UK supervisor development programmes.
• To explore how institutional and national norms shape training content and delivery.
• To understand the influence of supervisors’ prior doctoral education on their supervision style and expectations.
• To offer recommendations for more inclusive and globally informed supervisor development.

This qualitative study involved interviews and observations across three UK institutions. It included 9 migrant supervisors and 4 academic developers/training leads. Observational data from development sessions and post-session interviews provided rich insights into both the design and experience of training provision.

• Supervisor training is shaped by UK-centric norms and assumptions.
• Migrant supervisors bring valuable, globally-informed perspectives.
• Their understanding of doctoral milestones differs based on where they trained.
• Institutional training often overlooks this diversity, unintentionally marginalising these contributions.
• Inclusive models like communities of practice can be strengthened by integrating migrant supervisors’ experiences.

The final report report can be accessed at https://srhe.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LUbingNRreport.pdfLink opens in a new window

The findings call for an inclusive supervisor development agenda that actively values and mobilises international expertise. The report will inform future policy conversations and the design of inclusive training materials. The Project Lead is currently working with two UK universities’ CDTs to co-create inclusive supervisor development resources to support supervisors’ development. The study will be presented at the SRHE Annual Conference 2025, with further dissemination planned through workshops and publications.

If you’re interested in collaborating on research, dissemination events, or resource development, please contact the Project Lead: bing.lu.1@warwick.ac.uk, who is keen to connect with researchers, academic developers, policy professionals, and doctoral education leaders who are:

• Exploring doctoral supervision across borders and institutions
• Interested in developing inclusive and relational supervisor training
• Designing comparative or international research on academic development
• Engaged in building communities of practice around doctoral supervision