This paper describes a study investigating the effectiveness of an online group supervision model developed to respond to the plight of postgraduate students forced to complete their research theses in China due to the COVID-19 pandemic border closures in 2020-2022. The supervisory group included academics with variable supervision experience who identified with diverse ethnicities and academic identities. Selected data collection methods were employed to investigate the student experience, including interviews, video analysis of supervision sessions, reflective writing, and collaborative autoethnography. Relational learning, culturally responsive approaches, and care ethics were deployed to provide rich insights into academics' deliberate strategies to support students in achieving their academic goals. The findings revealed that group supervision provided students with opportunities to participate within a dynamic team that was relationship and knowledge-rich. Academics developed greater intercultural understandings of the important research contexts in which students operated and valued their students' positioning.