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A Malaysian Research University’s Initiative to Develop International Students’ Employability Skills

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Graduate Employability Across Contexts

Abstract

Enhancing international students’ employability skills is an increasing concern of universities around the world. Little is known about how non-Western higher education institutions are developing employability of international students. This chapter fills the literature gap by investigating key initiatives and strategies adopted by a Malaysian research university in enhancing employability of international students, thereby contributing to international student development scholarship. Thematic analysis of 55 semi-structured interviews with postgraduate international students and staff members revealed that this university has initiated several within-curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular initiatives to develop internationals students’ discipline-related skills, soft skills and cross-cultural/interpersonal skills. The chapter discusses differences in the adoption of these initiatives compared with those adopted by universities in the West and explains the causes of such differences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh

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  1. Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh
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Correspondence to Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia

    Tran Le Huu Nghia

  2. College of Education, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Binh Chi Bui

  3. La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh

  4. Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia

    Vinh N. Lu

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Singh, J.K.N. (2022). A Malaysian Research University’s Initiative to Develop International Students’ Employability Skills. In: Nghia, T.L.H., Bui, B.C., Singh, J.K.N., Lu, V.N. (eds) Graduate Employability Across Contexts. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3959-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3959-4_10

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