International Students and Brain Drain - Essay Example

International and brain drain The recent advent in various fields has led to tremendous improvement in various parts of the world. Such improvements have also made it possible for countries to be able to interact with one another. The change has been possible due to the advent of globalization. In the recent past, there has been a rise in the number of people seeking education opportunities in places far from their country of origin. The search for education opportunities has led to the emergence of international students. Most of people seeking such form of education come from developing countries and countries of the east. These people migrate to countries deemed to enjoy a better standard of living and quality of life, higher salaries, improved technology and peaceful political situation (Dodani and LaPorte 481-491). Consequently, a huge chunk of the population fails to revert to their countries of origin due to such opportunities. The failure for such people to return to their country after gaining education has led to the perception that internationalization of studies leads to brain drain. As Zweig and Chen notes, the idea arises due to reduced return to their mother countries of skilled professionals such as doctors, engineers, and scientist (3). Moreover, developed countries have been criticized for taking the best talent from developing and underprivileged countries. The paper seeks to argue that international student do not go through brain drain as they transfer skills, and provide revenue and economic benefit to source countries. First, knowledge gained by international students can be transferred to source countries. The students that move from one country to another for quality education can also transfer their skills to their source country. Such knowledge can play a significant role for the well-being of the nation and society. An analysis done by Annalee Saxenian indicated that there was a transfer of skills from Silicon Valley in California and Bangalore in India (Teitelbaum 1). It was found that transfer was possible through Indian expatriates and hence the high level of technology prowess at Bangalore in India (Teitelbaum 1). Moreover, multinational corporations are also likely to educate migrants and then send them back to their source countries as representatives. In an exposition by Leonard Lynn and Hal Salzman, it was noted that establishment of multinational corporations of engineering operations to be based on availability of high skilled migrants among the employees of such companies (Teitelbaum). Hence, multinational corporations play a significant role in ensuring that skills and talents are retained in the source countries. Secondly, international students can act as a source of revenue to their countries of origin. Sometimes, some of the emigrants decide to work for the host country after acquiring enough skills. As an international student opts to work in these countries, they get access to higher paying jobs due to the quality skills they acquire in the host countries. Improved earnings mean there is enough money to use and to spend to their countries and families as a form of foreign revenue. A classical example is in Bangladesh. In the country, approximately US$ 2 billion is received from emigrants that opted to work in United States (Sengupta 1). The remittance positively influences the country economy being the second largest source of foreign revenue (Sengupta 1). Such money if used prudently can lead to social and economic development of the country. For example, spending such amount of money in research and development can help in improving the education standard of the country. The improved education standard might help in offsetting the adverse effect emerging from brain drain. Moreover, the skills acquired by international students are of economic benefits to the countries of origin. Some of the students get employment opportunities in big companies in the developed nations. As they work in these companies, they get enough skills and experience that help them start their own business and run companies in countries of origin. Such companies and business helps in creating employment opportunities to those people that had no benefit of furthering their studies in privileged countries. For example, Shailesh Deshpande has been successful in India after failing to secure a place in United States after graduation. Deshpande has managed to overcome obstacles and is now a senior vice president of the Indian coal imports company, and he is in the process of starting a company (Pagliery 1). The example highlights how skills are crucial to the countries of origin and how such skills help in transforming the country. In Deshpande case, a new company will offer employment opportunities to some of people in India reducing the challenges of unemployment. on the other hand, there are those that argue that ‘brain drain still exists. The individual that argues that brain drain exist notes that there have been few educated people returning to their countries of origin. Such countries are hence denied the skills required for the economic and social development. A classical example of countries witnessing brain drain is China. China continues to witness a reduced number of professionals willing to return. For example, over 90 percent of Chinese that gained Ph.D. in United States in 2002 were still in the country in 2007 (Zweig 1). The statistics indicate reduced rate of return by the talented Chinese. Moreover, the academics and scientist have shown no intention of permanently settling in China (Zweig 1). The reluctance has been witnessed through the 1,000 Talents program initiated in the country (Zweig 1). The statistics help to highlight that internationalization of studies leads to brain drain. However, I disagree with this notion as failure to return may be due to inadequacy witnessed in the countries. For example, some of the countries may have unfavorable policies that make it impossible for the ‘best to return to their countries of origin. Such policies may include lack of promotion, poor remuneration, and lack of motivation hence, return rate can be improved by implementing changes to such policies. In conclusion, it is clear that the issue of international student and brain drain has generated significant debate. Some argue that brain drain do not exist as internationalization of studies helps in generating revenues, improving skills, and improving economies of countries of origin. On the other hand, there are those that argue that such studies leads to brain drain as only a few people are willing to return to their mother countries. However, based on opinion and facts it is clear that the benefits of such studies outweigh the negative aspects. Thus, the source countries should not be against the international students as they are a benefit to such countries in direct and indirect means. The source country benefits directly as such students bring expertise. In additional, there is an indirect benefit as they send resources that help address social and economic challenges faced by such countries. Consequently, the source countries should motivate students to come back to their countries by having favorable policies. Such policies should lead to good working conditions and career growth. Therefore, the issue of brain drain should not be arising in a case of international students. Works Cited Dodani, Sunita and LaPorte, Ronald. “Brain drain from developing countries: how can brain drain be converted into wisdom gain?” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 98.11(2005): 487-491. Print. Pagliery, Jose. “Americas brain drain dilemma: immigrant students who leave.” Money.cnn.com. Web. 11 August 2014. . Sengupta, Somini. “Money From Kin Abroad Helps Bengalis Get By.” Www.nytimes.com. Web. 11 August 2014. . Teitelbaum, Michael. “Perspectives: A New Science Degree to Meet Industry Needs.” Issues.org. Web. 11 August 2014. . Zweig, David and Chen, Changgui. “Chinas Brain Drain to the United States.” Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2013. Print. Zweig, David. “Luring Back the Chinese Who Study Abroad.” Nytimes.com. Web. 11 August 2014. . Read More