But students do not always know whether a higher education institution that promises “career-focused education” will truly deliver. David Pilsbury, Chief Development Officer at Oxford International Education Group, wrote for Universities UK on 3 October 2025 that argues that it is time to abandon “vague promises.” He writes about a TNE initiative in which he has been closely involved that bucks this trend: the University of Southampton’s new Delhi campus. Mr Pilsbury writes:

“This project 
 breaks the mould of ‘business as usual’ in transnational ventures. Instead of the usual rhetoric about employability, it hard-wires a commitment to real employment outcomes for students.”

Mr Pilsbury goes on to explain how the Southampton branch manifests this commitment:

“Thanks to partnerships with industry – for example an agreement with Deloitte India – students at the Delhi campus gain access to internships, placements and clear graduate job pipelines from day one. The campus is located in an innovation park amid major businesses, and curricula are specifically designed to prepare students for global careers. In practice, this means engaging industry experts in guest lectures and projects, and constantly updating programmes to match skills needed in the market 
. Crucially, Southampton’s venture doesn’t operate in isolation – it integrates a ‘triple helix’ of education, research and industry engagement at its core. Students benefit from links to leading firms with internship and placement schemes already in place.”

The University of Southampton’s commitment to employability is admirable, and there are other universities that are similarly impressive in accompanying promises with strategy and infrastructure.

We have highlighted a few great examples below.

Experience for the win

Northeastern University (US) is a pioneer of integrating workplace learning into academics. It is famous for its six-month co-op opportunities – mostly paid, and the university strongly encourages employers to compensate students – at the undergraduate and master’s levels. For example, business and law students can work with legal firms or multinationals including Deloitte and Microsoft to gain hands-on expertise. In fact, if you look at Northeastern’s , you’ll see that “Experience” leads the branding in the university’s carousel-styled banner, followed by “Research” and “Global.”

Leading with excellence in work placements

The landing page for says it all – and the message is directed right at students:

“Explore careers, earn money, and gain experience through the world’s leading co-op (paid internship) program.

As a Waterloo co-op student, you’ll typically alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you’re working for.

Open to Canadian and international students, Waterloo’s co-op program is an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, test drive up to six careers, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!”

Skills-demand forecasting for relevant programmes

As reported by (in a fascinating article about preparing students for long-term success), (RMIT) “forecast the growth of digital jobs in Australia. The university then formed strategic partnerships with major employers to establish pathways and programs aimed at reskilling current students so that they can access these job opportunities.” This is an amazing example of following through on promises of academic–industry connections.

Beyond traditional career supports

Check out Korea-based Seoul National University’s and you’ll need to scroll to see all the career supports the university provides. From courses to internships to job fairs and career “concerts,” the list is extremely impressive. There are even options specifically for international students and one focused on jobs in the global economy, complete with English-language coaching for resumes, interviews, and presentations.

Make it personal

In France, the EDHEC Business School doesn’t just offer career services – it offers for students focusing on one sector or profession. Their website says:

“One of the unique strengths of EDHEC’s Career Centre is its specialised teams that focus on specific tracks and industries. Whether students are pursuing finance, marketing, consulting, or data, they receive expert support tailored to the demands of their chosen field. This ensures precise alignment between academic preparation and market needs.

The Career Booster programme offers sector-specific training, recruitment preparation, and networking opportunities. With 30 sectorial career boosters, students can focus on industries like luxury goods, fintech, consulting, entertainment, and more, ensuring they stand out in a competitive global job market.”

Within the Career Booster initiative is an Assessment Centre that “simulates real-world recruitment processes. Students participate in tests, group exercises, and case studies, receiving immediate feedback from industry experts. Each year, our students benefit from this immersive preparation, entering the job market with confidence.”

Lifelong career support

The University of Edinburgh (UK) recognises – and even after they get their first job. The university offers lifelong career support to its alumni through its Careers Service and the Alumni Services platform. This includes access to online resources and advice, careers events, networking opportunities, and individual counselling support.

Back it up

The five universities profiled here offer a glimpse of best practices in career services as well as a real commitment to graduate outcomes. Increasingly, developing more comprehensive, strategy-based, labour-market connected career supports represents a huge competitive edge – and one that should be surfaced not just on landing pages, but on the institutional homepage as per the Northeastern example. If they are the real deal – and not just a claim – experiential learning and graduate outcomes can be the strongest element of a brand.

For additional information, please see:

• “What students want: The top decision factors for study abroad”
• “Global student satisfaction survey highlights growing attention to career services”

The post Is your institution doing enough to boost career outcomes for students? appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The programme – produced in partnership by Studyportals with Uni-Life and the British Council IELTS – relies entirely on student reviews, which this year amounted to 102,000 reviews from students across 3,059 universities and 124 countries. The reviews were submitted between January 2023 and July 2025, from current students or alumni who graduated after January 2022.

Overall student satisfaction remains high at 4.18/5.00, reflecting a marginal decrease from 2023’s rating of 4.21. Comparable to the 2023 survey, just under 96% of responding students rated their overall study experience at either four or five stars.

At a national level, the top-performing destinations – based on that overall satisfaction score – were the United States (4.32), Belgium (4.29), and Austria (4.28). The following figure highlights a wider selection of country ratings (for overall satisfaction), comparing destination performance on two dimensions: (i) positive or negative change relative to the 2023 rating and (ii) relative ranking compared to the global average of 4.18.

Aside from the US, Canada showed steady improvement over the last four years, climbing from a rating of 4.07 (2021) and 4.11 (2023) to reach the global average for first time. The United Kingdom has also shown steady, if more gradual improvement, rising from 4.1 (2021) and 4.18 (2023) to 4.23 this year. Australia, however, remains below the global benchmark, with ratings consistently around 4.13 over the past four years.

As we see in the following summary of other key indicators from the 2025 ratings, there is a little more variability sitting behind that overall score.

“These results show where universities are winning student trust, and where they risk losing it,” said Studyportals CEO Edwin van Rest. “Students are more confident about career prospects, but increasingly concerned about diversity and their quality of life. In today’s competitive environment, these student voices are critical signals for universities. Understanding these perspectives is crucial for shaping policies and programmes that genuinely meet students’ needs.”

Signals for improvement

The student rating for “Admissions Process” declined from 4.41 in 2023 to 4.24 this year. This parameter reflects student feedback with respect to ease of application, clarity of website information, and quality of staff assistance during the admission process.

Part of the issue here may lie in the premium that students place on ease of use and streamlined experience in other parts of their lives. “Students specifically appreciate when online applications are ‘easy and simple to operate’ and websites are user-friendly,” adds Studyportals. “Modern students expect admission processes to match the usability standards of consumer applications, with intuitive interfaces and straightforward procedures.”

Another notable change this year was in the area of “Student Diversity,” which reflects “how effectively universities foster welcoming environments for students from different countries, cultures, religions, age groups, gender identities, backgrounds, and those with special needs.”

Student satisfaction with respect to “Student Diversity” dropped from 4.37 (2023) to 4.15 this year, a change that the report summarises as, “Universities that intentionally create welcoming spaces for students from different backgrounds see higher satisfaction. Conversely, some students faced problems integrating into the campus community or feeling at home in a new country.”

The meaningful thing about both parameters is that they are largely within the control of each university, which highlights that they remain areas of opportunity and potential competitive advantage for most institutions.

The steady rise of career services

Students rated their satisfaction with “Career Development” at 4.13 this year, a small increase over the 4.08 rating from 2023 but an impressive gain over four years from the 3.86 rating from 2021. As the term suggests, this aspect of student experience is concerned with, “How well universities support students’ career development through extracurricular courses, workshops, conferences, internship assistance, and other employability-enhancing activities.”

Overall, “Career Development” is the most-improved category tracked in the programme, indicating the greater attention to student support and student outcomes in this respect. Given everything we are learning in recent years about the greater emphasis students now place on those outcomes, this is a particularly relevant finding in the 2025 ratings.

This year’s report also includes a series of related recommendations for institutions planning to further strengthen their career services for students.

• “Facilitate industry professional connections. Organise regular interactions with working professionals through guest lectures, networking events, and mentorship programmes. These direct industry connections often prove more valuable than theoretical career guidance, providing students with realistic insights and professional networks.

• Expand hands-on learning opportunities. Bridge the gap between academic learning and professional application through well-supported internships and real-world projects. Students need practical experience with current industry tools and challenges to feel prepared for their careers.

• Leverage faculty research connections. Ensure professors actively engaged in current research translate contemporary industry challenges into classroom content. This makes education feel immediately relevant and prepares students for the evolving problems they’ll encounter in their professional lives”.

For additional background, please see:

• “How likely are students to recommend your institution?“
• “Global survey says graduate outcomes the most important factor in students’ choice of institution abroad“
• “Better living and social environments for students linked to better mental health“
• “Is employability still the holy grail for the new generation of international students?“

The post Global student satisfaction survey highlights growing attention to career services appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.