Post PhD Adjustments and Internationalization of Higher Education in China - A Study based on International PhD Students in China: PhDs Enrollment and Its Aftermath

Introduction

Research is the lifeblood and basic necessity for the development in all fields of science and technology regardless of whether it is social or natural science. Today the modern developed highly sophisticated state of art technology is the inheritance of the great scientists who have applied their rational thinking for probing the new ways of generating and regenerating knowledge through their research. One could have not even imagined before just a few centuries ago that the human life will be so automatic they way functioning today, where due to the development in research the human being has changed to limit of sky by probing the other planets and diving beneath the sea to explore the new knowledge. Moreover, one can rightly argue today that there is nothing impossible because the concept of impossible has taken a new dimension due to the advancement in research as just few hundred years ago the impossible things have become the reality. The miracle of the continuous development in research is that the world has become a “global village” where everything and everyone feels connected through an invisible medium based on highly sophisticated technology.

Development in research is normally been fostered either by independent research institutes or academic universities. The most significant component of the development of the research through research is the PhDs serving in the universities and research institutions in the different fields across the globe and the PhD education is one of a fast growing area of research with a number of complex issues (McAlpine, 2015). PhD qualified people have highest qualification, well trained in research (OCED, 2007) and are an important part of social capital, that plays a key role in the developing of an economy (Lucas (1988). Universities are playing a dominant role in keeping the research continuous in all fields from natural to social sciences disciplines. In other words, the universities have become hub of knowledge generation through teaching and research which becomes more productive when generated in coloration with the specialized organizations in a particular field. In order to acquire the best talent for serving in the universities, every institution tries to acquire best talent in the different positions for keep the knowledge dissemination and generation flow smooth. For commercial organizations one of a major objective of hiring PhD holders in the firms is that it helps them to make new inventions for commercialization (Agarwal, 2006) while as most advanced high tech firms that are based on the scientific knowledge make PhD recruitment and selection (Auriol, 2010).It has become now a crucial need for the universities to acquire highly knowledge person who is well versed with the latest research techniques and trends in a particular field, therefore, the applicants who have the PhD qualification are considered most suitable for university academic employment across the globe. PhD qualification is considered the highest level of qualification with a vast amount of research trainings that enables them to play a positive role in the implementation of the knowledge in innovation (Auriol, 2010). Generally, universities enroll the PhD students after their 18 years schooling in a respective field with some specific relevant criteria’s.