Grads go global
In a rapidly shrinking world, the concept of “brain drain” in research and development is losing relevance. Rather than safeguarding against the prospect of losing talent, institutions should be preparing their graduate students to become leaders in the new global workforce.
This was the conclusion reached by a select group of higher education leaders from 15 countries who attended the sixth annual Strategic Leaders Global Summit, “From Brain Drain to Brain Circulation: Graduate Education for Global Career Pathways,” at Kloster Seeon in Bavaria, Germany.
“Internationalization is obviously top of mind, not just for Concordia, but for research universities and graduate programs generally,” says Concordia’s Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, Graham Carr, one of three Canadian academic leaders invited to the summit.
“Promoting the mobility of students, the mobility of ideas, and the mobility of research is beneficial whether it’s your students going out, or whether you’re bringing other students in and enriching your research environment,” Carr says.
Jointly hosted by the Council of Graduate Schools and the Technische Universität München (TUM), the conference invited participants to examine the importance of international collaborations between institutions, and the development of tools for preparing students to work anywhere in the world.
“The globalized scientific and economic community demands circulation of brains — that is, mobility in networks, openness for exchange, and flow of minds and ideas," said Professor Ernst Rank, director of the TUM Graduate School and the International Graduate School of Science and Engineering, following the conference.
Carr points out that Concordia has roughly 130 agreements in place that support academic and research cooperation with institutions around the world, as well as such programs as the Graduate Student Mobility Awards that encourage students to garner global experience prior to graduating. Nevertheless, he adds, there’s always more that can be done. “I think we’ve got some good starting initiatives. It’s a question of making some of them more visible, and recognizing that we stand to gain a lot from an internationalization experience at the graduate level.”
During the summit’s final session, participants drew up a statement titled, “Principles for Supporting Global Careers in Graduate Education.” It contains 11 measures designed to support the “multidirectional flow of talents, education and research that benefit multiple countries and regions and the advancement of global knowledge.”
Carr says even though the world’s higher education institutions are all facing different challenges, they’re unanimous in their support for international collaborations and the need to create a stronger global workforce.
“Our needs are not all identical, except it’s pretty clear to everybody who was there that promoting globalization opportunities and developing competencies to succeed in a global environment has to be a top priority,” he says.
Related links:
• Council of Graduate Schools
• Principles for Supporting Global Careers in Graduate Education
• Graduate Student Mobility Award
• Research and Graduate Studies