Reversing the Mexican “Brain Drain”

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A publication from World Trends & Forecasts

Investing in more tech opportunities may lure the best and brightest back home.

By Concepción Olavarrieta

After investing more than a billion dollars
(or 25% of the Ministry for Education’s
budget) in postgraduate studies for young
students abroad, Mexico is looking for a return
on that investment—literally. Many of
those students never come back to Mexico
once their studies are completed. Their reasons
for remaining abroad include superior
wages and salaries; the ability to work in
research centers, offices, and labs equipped
with the latest technologies; and the opportunity
to be involved in cutting-edge
research projects.

Of these former students, 66% reside in
the United States, 26% in Europe, and the
rest in Canada and elsewhere. Half of the
5,000 scientists who did not return to Mexico
obtained PhDs, and some went on to
obtain postdoctoral positions. An estimated
575,000 Mexican professionals and
academics now live and work in the
United States and Europe, and this number
is growing. Every year, 20,000 highly educated
Mexicans search for better working
conditions outside Mexico. Most of them
ultimately get hired.

Click here to read “Reversing the Mexican “Brain Drain”