Southeast Europe turns "brain drain" into "gain"

25/06/2007

Keeping skilled professionals at home has become a key challenge for many countries in the region. While reversing the trend towards emigration may not always be possible, governments have been working with universities and international organisations to turn the problem into an asset

By Gabriela Preda for Southeast European Times – 25/06/07

The best and brightest are the likeliest to go abroad. [Getty Images]

The term "brain drain", which originated in the 1950s, is usually associated with loss. In Southeast Europe, though, it represents a more complex phenomenon. The trend could often better be described as "brain circulation", as many expatriates contribute to the home country's economy by sending money to their families. Meanwhile, many countries in the region have been seeking to turn "drain" into "gain", via a combination of public and private initiatives.

Millions of Southeast Europeans leave their countries in search of a better life elsewhere. Many are highly specialized professionals and academics. The majority -- scientists, researchers, senior managers and students -- are lured by attractive career opportunities, salaries and better overall conditions. At the same time, countries also lose human capital via "brain waste", or internal brain drain, as specialists leave jobs in their fields to take better paying jobs that do not require their professional expertise.

The repercussions have been serious. According to the UNESCO report "Science, Technology and Economic Development in Southeastern Europe", the number of researchers has seriously declined over the past decade. Many countries experience emigration of up to 70% of their skilled professionals. Two out of three teaching and research jobs are lost on some university campuses, devastating scientific research and higher education capacities.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), for example, 79% of research engineers, 81% of master's degree holders in science, and 75% of PhD graduates in science have left the country since 1995. In Albania, according to the same study, a 40% loss of academic staff was recorded at the University of Tirana, out of which 90% were younger than age 40. The costs of this economic migration, in terms of human development and public welfare, are incalculable, as governments many times use scarce resources to subsidize the education and specialized training of workers, who then take the potential economic and social spinoffs with them when they depart. Countries then struggle to fill posts in public welfare services and cope with skills shortages in key economic sectors.

The flow of researchers and scientists out of the region has serious repercussions. [Getty Images]

But now, according to international organizations and national governments, the trend is gradually reversing throughout the region, as emigrants increasingly seek to use their expertise, skills and capital to become real partners in the development of their countries.

Even when concerns about living conditions or political instability pose a barrier to return, new technology facilitates "virtual participation" in nation-building. Initiatives promoted by various intergovernmental or national institutions enable knowledge sharing and the conversion of specialized expertise into economic, social and cultural capital.

Universities around the region, meanwhile, have been at the forefront of efforts to convert "brain drain" into "brain circulation". Projects include exchange programmes that encourage academic and research staff to undertake short periods of specialized study abroad, and the creation of digital networks.

A joint UNESCO/Hewlett Packard (HP) project on piloting solutions for alleviating regional brain drain was implemented in 2003 in several Southeast European countries. By providing resources, including technological and financial facilities, to various universities, the initiative has enabled young scientists from the region to work within the framework of joint research projects with their fellow-nationals living abroad. The project has provided grid technology to various universities from Albania, BiH, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro.

"Participating universities have succeeded in creating teams of faculties, scientists and decision-makers across the region, all working closely together," programme co-ordinator Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic said. At the University of Belgrade, for example, several young engineers remained in the country to develop experiments using the grid computing technology. Moreover, at the regional level, regular project meetings have also acted as a stimulus for transcending boundaries.

Universities have seen major losses of academic staff. [File]

"Not only has the project strengthened scientific and educational capacities at the national level, it has re-established dialogue among young researchers from the region after years of broken communication," Uvalic-Trumbic said. The networks created with UNSECO/HP support function autonomously, with the objective of sharing innovative experiences to help researchers from the region consolidate local capacities and undertake research beyond borders, without leaving their home countries permanently.

Aware of the potentially devastating structural problem facing the regional education sector, the EU has become a key actor as well. The Union supports researchers through a range of programmes such as Tempus (aimed at modernisation of higher education) and the Erasmus Mundus scholarships. Also, the so called Bologna Process -- set up in 1999 to create a unified European educational space derived from the European integration process -- has given a boost to education reform in the Balkans.

Recently, various EU-member countries have implemented a "science visa", designed to make it easier for non-EU researchers to get working visas within Union countries. The directive, which was passed in 2005, will be translated into national law by EU member countries by October.

According to many experts, the brain gain initiatives are slow and have met many obstacles, primarily because of a lack of information or capacity to implement them. Nevertheless, according to many international organizations and national governments, the trend is gradually becoming a positive one. A new mindset is gradually taking place, as policymakers begin to see that mobility does not have to be seen simply as a threat. Channelled properly, it can reap benefits for the home country and even become an asset.