Published Article / Worldwide, including in South Africa, involvement in research is making increasing quality demands on higher education institutions in terms of sustaining high-level research capability and involvement on an efficient and effective basis. These are complex issues, particularly when concerns such as the quality of postgraduate training, lengthy postgraduate completion rates and the high percentage of suspension of postgraduate studies are present. These are just some of the issues leading to this improvement-oriented study investigating new-generation postgraduate students at a case-study university of technology. The research methodology applied in this study was primarily a qualitative research method, supported by a quantitative research element.