Although the literature on the professional development (PD) of university lecturers is growing, few studies have highlighted the importance of contextualising PD programmes to reflect universities’ idiosyncratic contexts and the specific combination of national and institutional cultures impacting pedagogical practices. In order to investigate how lecturers’ learning needs are shaped by the national and institutional cultures of universities, this study focused on one English-speaking university in Thailand. Data come from a focus group and interviews with 10 lecturers to understand: (i) their PD needs; and (ii) how these needs related to the university context. We compared the findings with themes identified in the literature and highlighted the importance of contextualising PD programmes to meet lecturers’ specific PD needs while responding to the national and institutional cultures of the university