I am a specialist in research and policy issues in international and transnational higher education. My research focuses on the challenges facing universities and national higher education systems in relation to internationalisation.  

I am originally from the Philippines and have worked in a variety of countries and roles in the higher education sector. My academic formation includes degrees in economics (University of the Philippines), public affairs (Sciences Po-Paris), public and economic policy (the London School of Economics) and education (Aarhus University Denmark). 

I have also worked in higher education administration as well as teaching and research. Previously, I worked on international partnerships for Sciences Po-Paris at their Asia Pacific Center and was the Executive Director of the Global Public Policy Network Secretariat. 

My other roles and responsibilities include:

Founding Convenor of the China and Higher Education Network (based at the University of Manchester)

Co-convenor of the Higher Education Research Network at Manchester (HERE@Manchester).

Co-convenor of the International Research and Researchers Network of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)

Research Excellence Framework (REF) Coordinator of the Manchester Institute of Education (University of Manchester).

Leader of the Globalisation and International Development Pathway for the Postgraduate Masters in International Education.  

I work together with many colleagues to support and develop the field through editorial work in the field of international higher education. 

I am editor of the journal: Internationalisation of Higher Education - Policy and Practice 

I am on the Editorial Board of:

COMPARE: Journal of Comparative and International Education

European Journal of Education

Higher Education Quarterly

Higher Education (Editorial Advisory Board)

International Journal of Chinese Education

Policy Reviews in Higher Education

My previous roles at the University of Manchester include:

Co-Research Coordinator of the Manchester Institute of Education (2017-2020) 

Programme Director of the Postgraduate Masters in Education (International) Degree (2018-2019).

My current research projects include:

Building an intra-regional scholarship: a programme of the ASEAN Secretariat (Principal Investigator). This project is funded by the ASEAN Secretariat.

The Comparability Study of the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) and the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF) (Principal Investigator). This project is funded by the European Union - SCOPE project. 

Scientific Publications and Colloborations in ASEAN. Co-investigator. This project is funded by the Hong Kong University Grants Council. 

The State of Higher Education in ASEAN Member States (Principal Investigator). This project is funded by the British Council.

Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) Higher Education Mapping: Working Towards the SDGs (Principal Investigator). This project is funded by the Asia Europe Foundation. 

Inclusion for Innovation: Addressing Inequalities in STEM (Principal Investigator) This is funded by the KTH / Stockholm University / University of Manchester Strategic Partnership Fund.

Spaces of global higher education: Exploring the purpose of 'campus (Co-investigator) This is funded by the University of Melbourne / University of Manchester Strategic Partnership Fund

Chinese Higher Education Pedagogies in Social Sciences and Humanities (Principal Investigator) This is a scoping research award granted by the Society for Research into Higher Education.

Graduate Employability in ASEAN – the Contribution of Student Mobility. (Principal Investigator) This project is funded by the European Union / Support to HIgher Education in the ASEAN region (EU SHARE). This project is co-funded by the German Academic Exchange (DAAD), the British Council, NUFFIC and ENQA

COVID and Chinese and East Asian University Students in the UK: Safety, Security, and Communication (Principal Investigator) funded by the British Academy

Employability of International Students (Co Principal Investigator) funded by the UPP Foundation

The Effects of the Pandemic on European Higher Education (Co-investigator) part of the European Universities-Critical Futures Project funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark

I also am a part of the European Network for International Student Mobility (Co-investigator) funded by the European Cooperation on Science and Technology (EU COST).

Research areas

I carry out research on a range of topics in education policy and international development. I am particularly interested in issues around transnational and international higher education.

University Rankings and Impact

My research covers issues around global university rankings, reputation and strategy management in international higher education,  the construction of value in higher education, the 'social life' of data, evaluation in education, the use of technology in society and educational contexts, and the production of educational distinction(s).

I am also leading projects exploring the concepts and practices of 'quality' in higher education in emerging economies.

International Higher Education Partnerships, China and East/Southeast Asian Higher Education

I have previous professional expeirence in managing international higher education partnerships. I have a keen research interest in higher education and 'knowledge diplomacy'. I am particularly interested in issues around China and Southeast Asian higher education. 

I initiated and co-organise a series of annual conferences on China and Higher Education held in December.  

Research Funding

My work has been supported by the British Academy, the European Commission / European Union, the British Council, the German Academic Exchange (DAAD), the Marie Curie Alumni Association, the ESRC, the UPP foundation, The Hallsworth Fund, the Confucius Institute, and the University of Manchester strategic research funds.

Supervision of PhD students

I welcome PhD applicants interested in working in my areas of research - particularly on higher education policies and internationalisation of higher education. 

I currently supervise and have supervised PhD students to completion on the following topics:

Experiences of international faculty members at UK universities (Huran Mirillo)

Governance of transnational partnerships of Chinese universities (Dr Stella Huili Si)

'World Class University' policies and strategies (Dr Bing Liu)

The role of education agents in decision making of international students (Dr Ying Yang)

The international faculty recruitment policies of universities in China (Dr Bowen Zhang)

Reputation management practices in China and the UK (Zhuo Sun).

Perspectives in Internationalisation among Chinese students and University Administrators in Study Abroad Programmes (Yaqiao Liu)

The Chinese Scholarship Council and Gift Theory in University Scholarships (Limanzi Xu).

Global Citizenship Education and International Students in China (Ruirui Liu)

Soft Power and International Scholarships (Abdulkadir Gokbalik)

Liberal Arts Education and TVET Education in China (Kexin Zhang)

Together with colleagues, I supervise a large number of PhD researchers through HERE@Manchester (our Higher Education Research Group), where our expertise centres on critical analysis of policy and practice in international higher education and with international students. PhD applications should be submitted by the SEED scholarship deadline for consideration by our research group, which is usually 1 February of each year. Information about applications to MIE can be found here.

Before this deadline, you are welcome to contact one member of our research group to informally discuss your research proposal. This includes myself, alongside Dr Jenna Mittelmeier, Dr Josef Ploner, Dr Sylvie Lomer, Dr Heather Cockayne, Dr Rui He. There are also other specialist colleagues who may be able to offer expertise related to your proposal.

You should review the profile pages of each HERE@Manchester researcher to contact the individual with an expertise that most closely matches your chosen topic. We have also designed a critical reading list and list of potential theoretical frameworks for developing your proposal ideas.

Teaching

I lecture on and contribute to courses on education and international development, concepts and issues in international education, higher education in international contexts, international and comparative education, equity and higher education, educational leadership, research methods, quality assurance in education, and the sociology of leisure.

I am a member of the Policy Working Group of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie* Alumni Association. I lead the taskforce on 'Displaced Academics and Students in HIgher Education'.

*Research Programme supported by the European Union

I am part of the Higher Education Research at Manchester (HERE@Manchester) Network and the Critical Education Policy and Leadership (CEPaLs) Research Group.

Courses on which I am course Leader:

International Development and Education (postgraduate)

Concepts and Issues in International Education (postgraduate)

I have previously taught:

Sociology of Leisure (undergraduate)

Research Methods II (undergraduate)

In addition I contribute to the following units:

International Perspectives on Equity and Diversity in Education  (postgraduate)

Leading Educational Change Education Leadership (postgraduate)

I am responsible for the supervision and academic advising of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students on the Masters in Education (International) programme and the BA in Management, Leadership and Leisure Programme. 

I am happy to receive proposals to supervise PhD projects in the my areas of research. 

I currently supervise PhD projects on:

academic mobility and migrant academics

education agents in higher education

the World Class University policies in China

transnational institutional governance of Sino-Foreign HE partnerships

transnational knowledge policies in Sino-Foreign universities

Global Citizenship education in higher education

Critical perspectives on University rankings and English Medium Instruction in HE

Scholarship Policies in China 

I would be interested to supervise students researching among others topics university rankings, transnational higher education, reputation management, city-university partnerships and related themes.