ESIB Opinion: Brain Mobility 

Background

There is a significant disparity among the countries participating in the mobility
schemes about the number of ingoing and outgoing students. The UK, France, Spain
and Germany are by far the most popular destinations and host 61 % of all Erasmus
students. The Eastern countries send much more students abroad than they receive.

This process is called a braindrain.

The following measures could be envisaged for dealing with brain drain: increased
reliance on joint degrees; inclusion in donor-funded scholarships of allocations for
purchasing the minimum equipment and materials needed by returning scholars and
for travel to update knowledge; a preference for sending grantees to top-quality
training institutions in other developing countries that possess an oversupply of
skilled labour, such as India; and creation of a favourable local work environment for
national researchers and specialists.

ESIB opinion on the matter

ESIB strongly opposes countries aggressively recruiting the top graduates in another
country at any cost. This unbalanced and systematic removal of the most talented
graduates is highly reprehensible and compounds the effects of “brain drain”.

Furthermore, there must be a real and concerted effort on the part of all
governments in Europe to ensure that there are no restrictions placed on any
student wishing to travel to another country for the purpose of study. This includes
but is not limited to finance, information, rights to travel, access and bureaucracy.
ESIB encourages that solidarity among countries and institutions be used as a tool to
a better resolution of the gaps existing within the European Higher Education Area as
we see it. Bilateral co-operation between institutions from east and west and also
among east could provide a fast but nevertheless appropriated solution for the low
mobility flows of students, while they wait to become full participant members of
wider mobility schemes.

Solidarity, responsibility, diversity and co-operation should be the main concerns in
the development of the European Higher Education Area, creating the necessary
balances and impulses towards the reunified concept of Europe.