Israel is the world’s largest brain exporter

While Israelis’ brain power might be finding a better future in moving out of the country and working abroad, the Council for Higher Education's planning and budgeting committee, is worried stiff over the situation that is arising out of this trend. 

With ‘brain drain’ from the country becoming a major matter of concern, there was a lot to discuss during the Knesset Education Committee meeting this week. The committee is worried over the continuous outflow of academicians from the country, who prefer to work abroad.

Going by the statistics, the numbers indicate almost 25 percent of academicians opting out, which clearly makes Israel the largest brain exporter of the world. The committee also discussed the alarming number of senior professors and scientists working abroad in foreign universities and institutions, which stood at 4000. Another 1000 are said to be living aboard.

The statistics which were presented to the committee by the head of the Council for Higher Education's planning and budgeting committee, Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, also revealed that the frequency of brain drain from Israel was much higher as compared to any other country of the world.

While only 1.3 percent of Spanish academics go out of their country to work, Netherlands had a brain drain percentage of 4 percent.

The data, which was taken from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), indicated clearly that 48.3 percent of senior professors who were staying back in the country’s universities are over the age of 55, followed by US which has this percentage at 32,2 percent, followed by Australia at 24.9 percent and UK at 16.9 percent.

These are alarming revelations as this indicates a decline in the academic standards and a piling up of older professors and academicians in the country while the much needed young blood is moving to greener pastures. The need for younger people is identified as a must for better research and to avoid stagnation.

Israel however, is ranked fifth in position when it comes to winning Nobel prizes.
While steps are being planned in the form of differential salaries for exceptional academicians, it remains to be seen how ell the nation copes with this stark reality of brain drain.