Personal profile
Overview
My research focuses on international students in policy, practice, and discourse. I adopt a critical approach, focusing on public policy discourses to examine how international students are represented.
I teach on the MA International Education and PGCertHE, with a specialisation in policy and global higher education. My module on International Higher Education, adopts a comparative approach to understanding developments in global higher education.
As a co-founder of the Research with International Students network, I support colleagues at all career stages to develop more critical world-leading research in relation to international students in multiple locations and contexts.
I am founding co-editor of the Journal of Global Higher Education.
I am co-founder of the Internationalisation Practitioners Network.
Previous PGRs have examined aspects of internationalisation in UK pedagogy, Omani higher education, Chinese international students' application experiences, and transnational higher education. I am interested in PGR applications that engage with critical questions about global higher education contexts, particularly those that engage with decolonial frameworks.
Overview
I am co-convene the Higher Education Research and Scholarship Group.
Contact me on [email protected]
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Education, International students in UK policy from 1999 to 2013: rationales for recruitment and representations of students, The University of Sheffield
Award Date: 21 Jul 2016
Areas of expertise
- L Education (General)
- Higher education
- Critical policy
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Social inequalities in access to international student mobility: Policy recommendations derived from a systematic review
Lomer, S., Carlson, S., Nada , C., Roohi, S., Yang, Y., Rodrigues, L. & Guðmarsdóttir , R. V., 1 May 2026, European Network on International Student Mobility. 9 p. (ENIS Policy Brief; vol. 07/2025)Research output: Book/Report › Other report › peer-review
Open AccessFile24 Downloads (Pure) -
Exploring the meaning of campus through lived experiences of students, staff, and visitors
Thompson, J., Mahat, M., Tregloan, K., Rivera-Yevenes, C., Lomer, S., Cockayne, H. & Zhang, A. Y., 29 Jan 2025, In: Higher Education Research and Development. 44, 1, p. 49-67Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile282 Downloads (Pure) -
Social inequalities in international student mobility: reviewing conceptual approaches
Carlson, S., França, T., Lomer, S., Resch, K., Roohi, S. & Budginaitė-Mačkinė, I., 2025, In: British Journal of Sociology of Education. 46, 6Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
‘I am not worthy, but my pounds are’: Chinese postgraduate students’ perspectives of the marketisation of UK higher education and its impacts on their experience
Sheng, J. & Lomer, S., 22 Aug 2025, In: Higher Education.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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“Emergent” hierarchisation in access to international higher education: a study of Chinese agent-user students’ overseas university application experiences
Yang, Y. & Lomer, S., 5 Apr 2025, In: Higher Education.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Developing a global translation of Widening Participation to support international HE students
Lomer, S. (PI), He, R. (CoI), Donnai, T. (CoI) & MacQuarrie, S. (CoI)
1/01/23 → 1/08/23
Project: Research
Activities
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British Educational Research Association Annual conference
Donnai, T. (Chair), Lomer, S. (Chair), MacQuarrie, S. (Chair) & He, R. (Chair)
Sept 2023Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Participating in a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
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Enacting Internationalization in Higher Education at the Intersections of Policies, Strategies, and Practices
Lomer, S. (Speaker), Mittelmeier, J. (Speaker) & Courtney, S. (Speaker)
2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation › Research
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What do ethical practices with international students look like?
Mittelmeier, J. (Speaker), Lomer, S. (Speaker), Lim, M. A. (Speaker), Cockayne, H. (Speaker) & Ploner, J. (Speaker)
2 Nov 2021Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
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The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese students’ applications to UK universities
Yang, Y. (Speaker) & Lomer, S. (Speaker)
8 Jul 2021Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation › Research
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The role of education agents in Chinese students’ application to UK universities during the COVID-19 crisis: an exploratory study
Yang, Y. (Speaker) & Lomer, S. (Speaker)
14 Nov 2020Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation › Research
Press/Media
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Lost in translation: Is the University of Manchester letting down its overseas students?
13/10/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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The Conversation: Why international students are choosing the UK – despite coronavirus
Mittelmeier, J., Lim, M. A. & Lomer, S.
6/10/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Times Higher Education: ‘Urgent need’ for UK to better understand Chinese student needs
Yang, Y., Mittelmeier, J., Lim, M. A. & Lomer, S.
1/08/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
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University World News: What agents say about the plans of Chinese students
Yang, Y., Mittelmeier, J., Lim, M. A. & Lomer, S.
11/07/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Financial Times: Trade in education set to suffer from China’s caution
Yang, Y., Mittelmeier, J., Lim, M. A. & Lomer, S.
21/07/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other