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Manuel Souto-Otero DPhil Oxon

Professor Manuel Souto-Otero

(he/him)

DPhil Oxon

Professor

School of Social Sciences

Email
Souto-OteroM@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29208 70327
Campuses
Glamorgan Building, Room Room 1.21, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
Comment
Media commentator
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

My main areas of interest are education policy analysis and evaluation. I have a particular interest in the link between education and work (including, although not restricted to, digitalisation, the future of work and its implications for skills development), internationalisation in education and international student mobility and the recognition of learning (in particular non-formal and informal learning). Most of my work focuses on post-compulsory education. I make use of a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in my work.

Current research projects include: the Evaluation of Erasmus+ -the largest investment programme in the area of education of the European Commission- and a feasibility study of a European recognition and quality assurance system in higher education, which will contribute to a Council Recommendation on this topic in 2024 (both for DG Education and Culture of the European Commission); the 2023 edition of the European Inventory on Validation of non-formal and Informal Learning, which covers 30+ European countries, and the coordination of a network of experts in Adult Learning (both for DG Employment of the European Commission). I recently completed, as Co-Principal Investigator, the project "Digital Disruption and the Future of Work: Reimagining Education, Skills and Employability" -see "Research" tab for further details of this and other projects. I have been a Visiting Scholar at the University of California Berkeley (Berkeley, USA), Juan March Institute for Advance Studies in the Social Sciences (Madrid, Spain) and Senior Professorial Fellow at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (Singapore). During 2024 I will be an International Senior Fellow at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities at the Research Alliance Ruhr (Universities of Duisburg-Essen, Bochum and TU Dortmund, Germany).

I am the Director of Research at the School of Social Sciences (2024-), member of the Senior Management Team (2024-) and Head of the Education Research Group (2018-). I am also the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences representative in the University Academic Promotions Committee (2022-present) and the University Researcher Pathways Working Group, which develops university support for research-only staff and early career researchers (2022-present). I was previously Co-Director for Teaching and Learning (Employability and Enhancement) in SOCSI (2019-2022). 

During 2023 I was on secondment at ICF (Nasdaq ICFI), as a Director in the Public Policy Division, leading research projects and evaluations for the European Commission. I have undertaken a large number of research and consultancy projects on education issues for the European Commission, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural and Organisation (UNESCO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), various government departments in the UK and internationally (Belgium, Spain, Estonia), think-tanks and voluntary sector organisations. I am currently a Member of the British Academy 'Skills Working Group', as part of the British Academy programme on the UK economic framework, formed following discussions with His Majesty's Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade to provide a coherent account of thinking in this space, to inform policy.

I am a member of the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Grants Assessment Panel (2022-2024), and have been grant reviewer for various organisations including the European Research Council (ERC), DG Education and Culture, European Commission; DG Research, European Commission; Dutch Research Council (NWO); Research Council of Norway; Research Foundation - Flanders. I am Associate Editor of the Journal of Education and Work (2008 onwards), Executive Editor of the British Journal of Sociology of Education (2023 onwards, previously Member of the Editorial Board) and Member of the Advisory Board of the Journal of Education Policy (2022 onwards).

I have a DPhil. in Social Policy from the University of Oxford, and held visiting positions at the School of Education of the University of Carlifornia, Berkeley and Juan March Institute for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (Madrid). I am originally from Santiago de Compostela.

Recent awards:

Best Article Award "European Journal of Education Article of the Year 2021" for Souto-Otero, M. (2021) 'Validation of non-formal and informal learning: covert and overt' European Journal of Education, vol.56(3), pp. 365-379.

Best Article Award "2021 Comparative and International Education Society Study Abroad and International Students Special Interest Group" for Van Mol, C., Caarls, K. and Souto-Otero, M., (2021) International student mobility and labour market outcomes: An investigation of the role of level of study, type of mobility, and international prestige hierarchies. Higher Education, 82(6) pp.1145-1171.

 

Recent paper coverage:

My 2023 paper on alumni donations in higher education (with M. Donnelly and M. Kanol), published in the British Journal of Educational Studies, has featured in Wonkhe. You can read the Wonkhe piece on the paper here.

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

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2013

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2008

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2006

Articles

Book sections

Books

Monographs

Research

My research focuses on the following areas:

(1) internationalisation in higher education and international student mobility,

(2) the link between education and the labour market and the future of work,

(3) education policy and educational inequality,

(4) the social and labour market recognition of non-formal and informal learning,

(5) digital governance in education.

Current projects:

'European Network on international student mobility: Connecting research and practice' Funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action. Period: 2021-2025.

"Building capacities to better integrate non-formal and formal learningg" Funded by the European Commission. Country focus: Estonia. Period: 2021-2023.

"Digital Disruption and the Future of Work: Reimagining Education, Skills and Employability" Funded by the Institute of Adult Learning, Singapore, for the period 2019-2023. Country focus: China, Germany, Finland, India, Singapore, USA, UK and Vietnam.

European Inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission, 2023).

Network of Experts in the area of adult learning -Network Director (DG Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, European Commission, 2023).

I have recently been part of the following research projects (selection):

  • Evaluation of the Implementation of the 2018 Council Recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad (DG Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, European Commission, 2023)
  • Second European Skills and Jobs Survey: The impact of digitalisation and technological change on skills mismatch on EU workers (CEDEFOP, 2020-2022). Covered 27 EU countries.
  • Skills imbalances in the European Union (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission, 2020)
  • Independent Review of Digital Innovation for the Economy and the Future of Work in Wales (Welsh Government, 2019)
  • Building Singapore’s Talent Pipeline: Corporate and International Policy Perspectives (Institute of Adult Learning, Singapore, 2018)
  • Erasmus+ Impact Study (DG Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, European Commission, 2019)
  • A European Inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission, 2018)

 

 

 

Teaching

I teach in the areas of education, labour markets, social policy and research methods -from undergraduate to doctoral level.

Biography

Honours and awards

Best Article Award "European Journal of Education Article of the Year 2021" for Souto-Otero, M. (2021) 'Validation of non-formal and informal learning: covert and overt' European Journal of Education, vol.56(3), pp. 365-379.

Best Article Award "2021 Comparative and International Education Society Study Abroad and International Students Special Interest Group" for Van Mol, C., Caarls, K. and Souto-Otero, M., (2021) International student mobility and labour market outcomes: An investigation of the role of level of study, type of mobility, and international prestige hierarchies. Higher Education, 82(6) pp.1145-1171.

Runner-up for “Educational Review Article of the Year 2013" for Souto-Otero, M. (2013) ‘Neo-liberalism and continuing vocational training governance in the UK: an examination of three theoretical accounts’ Educational Review, vol.65(1), pp.20-35.

Professional memberships

  • Executive Editor: British Journal of Sociology of Education (2022-present) -previously member of the Editorial Board (2015-2022),
  • Member of the Advisory Board: Journal of Education Policy (2022- present)
  • Associate Editor: Journal of Education and Work (2008-present)

Speaking engagements

2024 "Are international students invisible? Reframing the discussion on the social and cultural integration of international students" Keynote talk to the European Network on International Student Mobility (ENIS COST Network, Working Group 3), 21 of February 2024.

2024 "Recognition of learning in the labour market" Invited talk at the Update of the European Inventory Workshop (European Commission/ Cedefop), 17 of January 2024.

2023 "Communicating research for impact: 10 pointers for graduate students and researchers" Guest lecture at the University of Latvia. 5 of December 2023, Riga, Latvia.

2023 "International student migration -assessing visa and migration rules and their impact on international students, employment in the UK job market and future policy options" Invited talk at the Westminster Legal Policy Forum seminar 'Next Steps for the UK's immigration System post-Brexit' (moderated by Lord German). 30 of November 2023, London.

2023 "Digital skills gaps" Invited talk at the ‘Skills and learning in a changing world of work’ Cedefop’s European Year of Skills Flagship event. 12 of October, Brussels.

2023 Invited discussion on 'Validation of non-formal and informal learning' with the European Institute of Education and Social Policy (Paris), on validation of non-formal and informal learning. 15 of July 2023.

2023 ”Graduate Employability in Europe" invited session at the Aarhus University School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus, Denmark, 16 of March 2023.

20022 "Digitalisation and the future of work” Keynote at “Digitalisation and Skills Mismatches: What can we learn from Cedefop’s 2nd European skills and Jobs Survey” Conference organised by Cedefop (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training). Thessaloniki, 8 of December 2022.

2022 “Validation of informal learning: covert and overt” German Research Centre for Comparative Vocational Education and Training (VET) (University of Cologne, Germany) 4th international conference on Informal Learning in VET, University of Cologne, 28-30/09/2022.

2022 “Bringing formal and non-formal learning closer together: How can it be done?” at “Building capacities to better integrate non-formal and formal learning” Organised by the European Commission (DG REFORM) and Estonian Ministry of Education. Tallin, 15/09/2022.

2022 "Who considers study abroad a priority? Social views on the importance of study abroad" Keynote at the ''Global Dialogues Forum" series of Beijing Normal University, 28/05/2022.

2022 "The integration of non-formal and formal education: the issues" Invited presentation at the European Commission (DG REFORM) and Estonian Ministry of Education Peer Exchange Activity "Building capacities to better integrate non-formal and formal learning” 3-4/05/2022.

2021 "Exploring complementary routes to certification: Learning outcomes, standards and micro-credentials" Invited talk at the European Commission and Cedefop "Updating the European guidelines for validation of non-formal and informal learning" 24/11/2021.

2021 "Skills prioritisation and conceptions of education as micro-foundations of class inequalities: an analysis of 28 European countries" Workshop on Developments and Changes in Education Systems across Global Cultural Spheres. University of Bremen, 8/10/2021.

2021 "The Learning Outcomes Approach in the European Union" Invited talk at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) 'Working towards a regional qualifications framework for Latin America and the Caribbean', Montevideo, 5/08/2021.

 

Committees and reviewing

Journal Reviewer:

Education:

American Education Research Journal; British Educational Research Journal; Compare; Comparative Education Review; Critical Studies in Education; Educational Review; European Journal of Higher Education; Globalisation, Societies and Education; Higher Education; Higher Education Policy; International Journal of Educational Development; Journal of Curriculum Studies; Journal of Education Policy; Journal of Education and Work; Journal of Research in International Education; Journal of Vocational Education and Training; Journal of Youth Studies; Studies in Higher Education.

Political Science and Public Administration:

Evidence and Policy; Journal of Common Market Studies; Journal of European Social Policy; Public Administration; Regulation and Governance; Representation.

Sociology:

British Journal of Sociology of Education; European Sociological Review; Sociology of Education; Work and Occupations; Youth and Society.

Supervisions

I have substantial experience supervising doctoral (PhD/ EdD) theses. I welcome applications for doctoral supervision from highly energetic candidates in the following areas:
 
  • Internationalisation in higher education and international student mobility
  • Education and labour markets (including digitalisation, the future of work and skills development
  • Education policy analysis and evaluation
  • European education policy
  • Validation of non-formal and informal learning
  • Digital governance in education

Current doctoral students (recent students have obtained funding from the Chinese Scholarship Council, Economic and Social Research Councill of the UK, Government of Oman, Government of Saudi Arabia, amongst other bodies):

  • Miaomiao Jia (Topic: International students, digitalisation and employability: the case of Chinese students in the UK).
  • Mater Hadadi (Topic: Ditigialisation and teacher's work in schools).
  • Rebekah Bawler (Topic: Digitalisation and schools' as learning organisations)
  • Claire Bowen (Topic: Graduate employability in the digital economy).

Current supervision

Miaomiao Jia

Miaomiao Jia

Research student

Past projects

Recently completed doctorates:

  • Dr. Faisal Al Balushi (Topic: The Role Of Student Council Engagement In Shaping Policies In Higher Education).
  • Dr. Khalifa Al Harmi (Topic: The Impact Of Credentials And Social Capital On Employment Outcomes).
  • Dr. Amnah Albehiji (Topic: PhD Degree Mobility and Career Outcomes).
  • Dr. Issa Al Shabibi (Topic: Entrepreneurship Education And Economic Diversification Strategies).

Research themes