From brain drain to brain gain
As Europe's researchers are lured away by more prosperous and ambitious nations around the world, the continent's brain drain phenomenon is proving to be setback for the EU's knowledge economy. The bloc has been working hard to reverse this trend – an ambitious objective that was recently supported by the EU-funded project 'Brain circulation - from brain drain to brain gain' (MOREBRAIN). To achieve its aims, the project worked closely with Euraxess, the EU's researcher exchange network, studying how best to bring researchers back to Europe. It outlined the factors that lead to brain drain and prepared a detailed, revealing report on the issue. Specifically, MOREBRAIN identified the elements that influence researchers to move to other countries and factors that encourage researchers to return. Armed with a set of new data and surveys, the project team outlined a novel approach of of 'e-reintegration'. It coupled it with the concept of 'co-sharing positions' to counter the brain drain of quality in Europe. The project outcomes were disseminated to stakeholders through conferences, Facebook, e-newsletters, press releases, radio, print material and the project website. They were also presented to EU policymakers in order to support decision making and future policies in this regard. In the long run, these outcomes are set to increase knowledge among the Euraxess service centres and help them encourage EU researchers to return to Europe. The results will also be useful in guiding policymakers to strengthen e-reintegration and co-sharing, thus helping to reverse this disquieting trend. The EU's evolving knowledge economy and its research capabilities are bound to improve as a result.