26 mai 2013
Rise of scientific powerhouses not stemming PhD outflow
By Reinhilde Veugelers. The rise of new scientific powerhouses in Asia provokes the question of what the impact will be on science. In particular, does a shift of scientific power to Asia mean the flow of scientific talent from East to West will dry up? And are Asian scientific centres new cooperation partners in science for the West? United States universities import much of their scientific talent from abroad, especially from Asia, and are worried about continuing to fill their research centres with imported brains. This concern, however, is not justified by the data: overall, the evidence shows that the international mobility of Asian scientific talent continues to increase. Read more...‘Thousand Talents’ academic return scheme under review
By Yojana Sharma. China’s high profile ‘Thousand Talents’ scheme to lure back academic high-fliers may look on paper like a major success. But there is concern that it is not bringing researchers back to stay full-time, commit to the long-term development of China’s science and technology sector and nurture future local PhD talent. Returnees prefer part-time or visiting research posts in China rather than full-time positions, according to experts. And they are often unwilling to leave tenured positions at major universities in the West. Read more...Foreign PhDs urged to stay during strong expansion
By Jan Petter Myklebust and Eric Beerkens. The number of doctoral candidates in the 13 Dutch universities jumped by almost 60% in the decade to 2010 and is now close to 4,000 students each year. An OECD country report on tertiary education in The Netherlands in 2008 said the proportion of foreign students at doctorate level was then 20%, with some 640 PhDs conferred. Through the ongoing internationalisation of graduate education in The Netherlands, a broad variety of different PhD trajectories have emerged. The PhD candidate as an employee of the university is the traditional model and is still widespread, especially in the hard sciences and life sciences. Increasingly, however, foreign PhD candidates come to The Netherlands to pursue the degree while being funded by their own governments. Chinese government-sponsored students and DIKTI students – lecturers funded by the Indonesian Directorate General of Higher Education – are important examples.The PhD premium
The output-based financing in the Dutch system – through a so-called ‘PhD premium’ where universities receive around €90,000 (US$116,000) for each graduate – is an important factor contributing to the growth. Read more...
Reversing decades of brain drain
By Manuel Heitor, Hugo Horta and Joana Mendonça. The growing significance of intangible resources to the social and economic development of modern societies has underlined the importance of enlarging the pool of talent, particularly at knowledge-based institutions, such as universities. In times of growing global uncertainty, scientific and academic institutions strive to build critical mass by attracting and retaining highly qualified people resulting, above all, in increasing competition for talent worldwide. Doctorates are among the most sought-after highly qualified human resources, and it is well known that scientific and economic powers across the world act as magnets for talent from developing countries and emerging regions around the world. Read more...Losing talent to a freedom-loving America
By Lena Adamson and Anders Flodström. In June 2010, the Swedish parliament decided that non-European students should pay tuition fees from the autumn of the following year while studying in Sweden. The consequences were dramatic. In the autumn of that year, the number of non-European students applying for a place in Swedish masters programmes plummeted to 25,000 – down from 125,000 the year before – while the number admitted fell from 16,600 to 1,200. Read more...Where do the brainy Italians go, and why?
By Amelie Constant. Highly educated and skilled Italians take their talent abroad in search of better funds, career opportunities and payoffs. Despite Europe's attempts to retain ‘brains’, 30,000 Italian researchers leave each year, while only 3,000 qualified scientists go to Italy. It is no wonder the media, policymakers and scholars have used the term “brain drain” in recent years to describe this phenomenon. Read more...Half of mobile Arab doctoral students remain abroad
By Wagdy Sawahel. An extraordinary 80% of Arab postgraduate students currently carry out their study abroad. About half of them – especially from the North Africa region – do not return home after graduating, which results in annual losses estimated at more than US$2 billion. The Arab world has 470 universities and educational institutions catering to 400 million people, roughly translating into 1.2 institutions for every million people, according to a November 2011 Arab research strategy. There are about nine million students, 10% of whom are in postgraduate studies. Some 80% of postgraduates study abroad, and only 55% of them return home.“The more expatriates acquire skills and obtain higher degrees abroad, especially graduate-level degrees, the less they are likely to return,” stated a 2012 report, Determinants and Consequences of Migration and Remittances: The case of Palestine and Tunisia. Read more...
Attracting foreign skills a circular process
By Michael Gardner. Foreign academics are among the highly skilled workers that Germany wants to recruit to maintain its economic dynamics. At the same time, enabling foreigners who have earned a doctorate at a German university to return home is a key aspect of Germany’s overseas aid approach and is supported by higher education and development institutions and organisations. Despite Germany having fared comparatively well during the economic and financial crisis, concern has been mounting over the recruitment of junior engineers and natural scientists. Read more...Government plans to attract foreign postgraduates
By Eugene Vorotnikov. The Russian government is considering creating conditions to persuade foreign students, including postgraduates, to continue their education in the country. Implementation of the plans is expected to occur through the adoption of a number of legislative acts including a federal law, “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation”, which was recently approved by the Russian parliament. The measures also include abolishing the existing system of quotas for admitting foreign students to Russian universities, providing employment assistance, eliminating administrative barriers associated with employing foreigners, and increasing the number of scholarships, whose amounts are currently below the living wage. Read more...EU university ranking may ‘harm’ higher education
By David Jobbins. A key international advisory group for UK higher education has warned that U-Multirank – the European Union’s (EU) multi-million euro alternative to commercial international rankings – may harm rather than benefit the sector. But the U-Multirank team of Frans van Vught and Frank Ziegele quickly issued a statement seeking to refute the UK HE International Unit’s analysis. Read more...
