1. Comparing the employability outcomes
of UK-educated Chinese and Hong Kong students, graduating in 2015 and 2016
Esther de Perlaky
Nicola Watts
University of Warwick
26 November 2018

2. Number of Chinese students studying abroad and returning, 2017
608,400
489,000
Students studying abroad
Students returning to China
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Source: Chinese Ministry of Education, 2017

3. 7.95 million domestic Chinese graduates in 2017.
UK is second largest country for Chinese students to study abroad.
Almost 80% of Chinese students in the UK are studying business-related courses and half of these are in Msc Finance or audit.
Source: IIE Project Atlas,

4. Number of Chinese Students Compared to Total International Students
Country
Number of Chinese Students
Chinese Students/Total International Students US
328,547
31.50% UK
94,955
19.10%
France
28,043
9.10%
Australia
97,984
27.30%
Russia
20,209
13.40%
Canada
83,990
31.80%
Germany
30,259
10.10%
Japan
74,921
41.60%
Source: Chinese Ministry of Education, 2017

5. Why Research?
Total number of non-UK students studying in the UK in = 442,375
42% of students studying at postgraduate level in the UK are from outside the EU
Chinese students exceed any other nationality
Almost one third of non-EU students in the UK are from China.
14% rise in Chinese students studying in UK since
Source: UKCISA

6. Phase I Research:

7. ‘Standing Out and Fitting In’
UK HE-wide research project
Collected anonymised Chinese graduate destination data for the first time in the UK
Aims:
To provide evidence-based employability support for UK- educated Chinese students before, during and after their UK studies.
To enable UK HE to be better informed and resourced to support the needs of all UK-educated Chinese and Hong Kong students.
Report summary:
h/chinese_student_report.pdf

8. Phase 1: Thank you for the 2013/14 DLHE data
Aston University
Bath Spa University
Durham University
Kings College London
London School of Economics
Robert Gordon University
Sheffield Hallam University
University of Bradford
University of Brighton
University of Cambridge
University of Central Lancashire
University of Edinburgh
University of Essex
University of Kent
University of Leeds
University of Liverpool
University of Manchester
University of Northumbria
University of Oxford
University of Reading
University of Strathclyde
University of Sussex
University of Warwick
University of Worcester

9. Phase 2 Research: Comparing graduate outcomes of UK-educated Chinese and Hong Kong Students and

10. Phase 2: Thank you for 2014/15 & 2015/16 DLHE data
Aberystwyth University
Aston University
Brunel University
Edinburgh Napier University
Liverpool John Moores University
Loughborough University
Sheffield Hallam University
University College Birmingham
University of Birmingham
University of Bradford
University of Brighton
University of Bristol
University of Cardiff
University of Central Lancashire
University of Essex
University of Hertfordshire
University of Kent
University of Leeds
University of Lincoln
University of Manchester
University of Newcastle
University of Northumbria
University of Sheffield
University of Strathclyde
University of Sussex
University of the West of England, Bristol
University of Warwick
University of Worcester

11. Part 2: Graduate Destination Research
2014/15 and 2015/16 graduate destination data shared by 28 UK HEIs
Sample of 8,470 Chinese students
Compared with 91,215 Chinese students in the UK in 2015/16

12. 1. Sample size and make up

13. Chinese student sample Whilst different institutions provided data for each of the years, the findings remain consistent
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

14. Chinese male/female proportions Again, different institutions provided data for each of the years, however, the findings are still consistent.
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

15. Chinese male/female proportions split by level of study The different institutions providing data for each of the years, continued to show similar findings.
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

16. Male/female proportions split by level of study Hong Kong also shows similar study by male/female, however, the larger proportion are UG
Notes
*For data protection purposes, low numbers are suppressed
Varying institutions provided Chinese and Hong Kong data.

17. 2. Graduate outcomes

18. Chinese Graduate Outcomes
Notes
‘other’ destinations include travelling, due to start a job etc
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

19. Graduate Outcomes (Undergraduates)
Notes
*For data protection purposes, low numbers are suppressed
‘other’ destinations include travelling, due to start a job etc
Varying institutions provided Chinese and Hong Kong data.

20. Graduate Outcomes (Postgraduates Taught)
Notes
*For data protection purposes, low numbers are suppressed
‘other’ destinations include travelling, due to start a job etc
Varying institutions provided Chinese and Hong Kong data.

21. 3. Graduate destinations

22. Chinese country of employment
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

23. Chinese country of employment (gender)
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

24. Country of employment Notes
*For data protection purposes, low numbers are suppressed
Varying institutions provided Chinese and Hong Kong data.

25. Global Reach of UK-educated Chinese Graduates
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

26. 4. Industry destinations

27. Which industries do Chinese graduates work in?
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

28. Which industries do Chinese graduates work in? (Gender)
Notes
27 institutions provided data for 2015/16 and for 2014/15, however, these were not all the same institutions in each year.

29. Which industries do graduates work in?
Notes
*For data protection purposes, low numbers are suppressed
Varying institutions provided Chinese and Hong Kong data

30. We would like your help!
As an extension to this research, we would like to collect anonymised graduate destination data to provide a continuing evidence- based picture for the HE-sector of the outcomes for Chinese and Hong Kong students after studying in the UK.
Plus expand this research to include other nationalities e.g. India, Singapore and Malaysia (and any others?)
And include more analysis eg. including subject studied and details about graduate occupation within a sector

31. To find out more about the project and to be involved in the 2017
To find out more about the project and to be involved in the data collection, please contact:
Esther de Perlaky
University of Warwick