About International Student Graduate Employability Research Program ​

Our program of research focuses on international student graduate employability, labour market demands and migration. Our team have undertaken various projects on the relationship between learning abroad and domestic student employability and international student graduate employability in Australia, China, India, Japan and Vietnam. Our research on this theme has been funded by the Australian Research Council, IDP Education, CPA Australia, DFAT’s Aus4Skills, IELTS, Victorian Department of Business and Innovation and Deakin University (See ‘Projects and Consultancy’ for a range of our funded projects). Our research has made contributions to both conceptual knowledge and good practice in enhancing international student and graduate employability. Our projects have informed curriculum development, student career support services, university strategy and government policy. Our team have provided professional consultancy and policy advice and our research has been extensively featured in a range of media (See ‘Publications’ and ‘Media’). 
In particular, our program of research focuses on:
  1. opportunities and challenges facing international students and graduates in home and host labour markets
  2. employability development, internships and work-integrated learning for international students
  3. agency and strategies used by international students/graduates to navigate home and host labour markets
  4. impacts of post-study work policies on international graduates, international education and labour markets
  5. relationship between education, work, temporary student/graduate visas and migration
  6. labour market demands, employers’ needs and skills shortages
  7. professional development for teachers and academics to enhance international graduate employability
  8. Domestic students: impacts of learning abroad and international internships on Australian students’ career directions and employability  (via the New Colombo Plan).

Our team

 Professor Ly Tran

Ly Tran is a Professor in the Research for Educational Impact (REDI) Centre, Deakin University, Australia and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Her work focuses on international students, international graduate employability and migration, internationalisation of education, the New Colombo Plan, staff professional learning in international education and Vietnamese higher education. Ly has been awarded various fellowships, prizes and awards for her contributions to research in the fields of international education and student mobility. Ly has recently been named as one of Vietnam’s 50 Most Influential Women 2019 by Forbes Vietnam (Research-Education Category).  
Profile: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/ly-tran
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​Research Gate
Academia

Alfred Deakin Professor Jill Blackmore (AM)

Professor Jill Blackmore AM is Alfred Deakin Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, founding Director of the Centre for Research in Educational Futures and Innovation (2010-15) and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia. Her research interests include, from a feminist perspective, globalisation, education policy and governance; international and intercultural education; educational restructuring, leadership and organisational change; spatial redesign and innovative pedagogies; teachers' and academics’ work, all with a focus on equity. Current research in schools is on international students and school autonomy. Recent higher education research has focused on international education and graduate employability and on the re/constitution of the social relations of gender in and through education in the early 21st Century.  
Profile: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/jillian-blackmore

Dr Mark Rahimi

Mark M Rahimi, Postdoctoral Fellow at Deakin University, is a quantitative social sciences researcher who has worked on a number of high-profile research projects and evaluations. He has extensive experience in quantitative and mix-methods research in education. Mark’s expertise in data science and computing has enabled him to excel and further develop skill sets necessary to conquer research projects in various scales and programs. In his PhD in Education, he worked on international graduate employability and the transition of international graduates from university to work in Australia. Currently, Mark’s focus is on the New Colombo Plan project and technology transfer associate with inbound-outbound mobility of workforce. 
Profile: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/mark-rahimi
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Dr George Tan
George Tan, is a Research Fellow at the Public Health Information Development Unit at Torrens University and Adjunct Fellow at the Hugo Centre for Migration and Population Research at The University of Adelaide. He has a background in demography and migration and has a keen interest in the demographic, social and spatial implications of international student mobility and more broadly skilled migration.​

Dr Cate Gribble
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Cate Gribble is a Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of Research Strategy at the University of Auckland. Prior to moving to New Zealand, Cate held academic positions at both RMIT University and Deakin University. Cate’s research has focussed on international student mobility, migration and employability. She has worked extensively with international students, employers, professional organisations, government and universities. Many of her projects have had considerable national and international significance, informing government policy, curriculum design and university strategy.  

Mr Alam Nasrah Ikhlas 
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Alam Nasrah Ikhlas is a PhD candidate at the School of Education, Deakin University. He previously worked at the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, Republic of Indonesia. He also organized the international student mobility programs for Indonesian universities during his occupation in the Ministry. His PhD research focuses on the impacts of student mobility programs in Indonesia and Australia (the New Colombo Plan) on graduate employability.
Dr Huyen Bui

Ms Trang Thuy Le
​Huyen Bui is a Research Fellow in the School of Education, Deakin University. Huyen’s career has developed at the intersection of academic and industry expertise in international education. She has been working in international student recruitment and educational partnerships for over 15 years. Her research interests include international student acculturation and support services, international student mobility, international graduate employability, and transnational education. She possesses skills and experience in both quantitative and qualitative research in international education.
Trang Thuy Le is a PhD candidate in Education at Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria. She was previously working as a full-time lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education in Vietnam. Her research interests are central around the connections between student mobility and employability. She is particularly interested in developing nuanced understandings of the impacts of intercultural communication on graduate employability among Vietnamese returnees and temporary graduate visa holders in Australia.