To leave or to stay? Migration attitudes of the participants of “global education” program

Abstract

Recognizing the importance of human capital, many developed and rapidly developing countries invest into the growth of international student mobility of their nationals through various state grants and scholarships. This study explores if these measures combined with obligations to return to home country can prevent the “brain drain” and enhance transition to the “brain circulation” model. Using the case of the Russian government grant program “Global Education” we examine peculiarities of adaptation of highly qualified specialists to the countries of education, employment features of program graduates and their potential emigration attitudes. This study used the mixed method approach: survey in the form of an anonymous questionnaire and the results of a qualitative study in the form of semi-structured in-depth interviews. Results indicated that a lot of participants felt disappointment after returning home. The main difficulty was inconsistency with received education and job vacancies in the labour market. We found that a significant part of the program participants expressed desire to emigrate from Russia after completion of their obligations. The study acknowledged that the emigration of highly qualified specialists can be reduced by institutional changes in the Russian economy, including an increase in labour remuneration, removal of barriers to the implementation of initiatives, and reduction of taxes on starting-up and running business in high-tech industries.