Building a home for the brightest minds
Economy loses NIS 20m. for every academic who remains abroad, nonprofit says
Often described as “brain drain” or human capital flight, almost 6% of Israeli university graduates leave the country for at least three years after completing their studies, together with their training and expertise.
Among doctoral graduates, the figure is almost twice as high. According to the nonprofit ScienceAbroad, the Israeli economy loses approximately NIS 20 million for every academic who remains abroad, based on lost knowhow and potential contributions to the state.
Founded in 2006, ScienceAbroad works in partnership with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry to facilitate the return of scientists to Israel, so that both Israeli academia and the economy can enjoy the fruits of their talents.
“The phrase we are using on a daily basis – brain drain – is not the right phrase,” ScienceAbroad CEO Nadav Douani told The Jerusalem Post. “When someone leaves his country to have a better future abroad, this isn’t brain drain. He or she simply wants a better future.”
Many Israeli researchers, encouraged to pursue their doctoral or postdoctoral studies abroad, find that opportunities are limited when seeking to return to their home country. When their relocation ends, Douani says, they want to move back but fail to find a job.
“Our mission at ScienceAbroad is to bring them back home to Israel. We are not telling them to move tomorrow morning, but are exposing them to opportunities in Israel,” Douani said. “After they finish their postdoc, they figure out that they don’t have a Plan B. When they want to move back to academia, they don’t know what to do.”
The nonprofit has worked with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry to build a large network with 29 branches and 200 annual events worldwide, from the United Kingdom and Germany to Canada and the United States. There are 4,000 members of the network, including 3,000 individuals abroad.
For Israelis living abroad, the organization offers both professional and social support, even bringing Israeli companies and universities to various destinations in North America and Europe to present them with opportunities. For those seeking to return, the NGO provides help with job hunting and bureaucratic assistance.
“A decade ago, we had 600 biotech companies in Israel. Now, we have 1,500 companies. There are not enough people in Israel with the necessary capabilities to work in those companies,” Douani said. “Our people are very talented, very smart, ambitious and want to change the world. These companies are looking for our people and we want to do the match.”
Eager to return to Israel, two dozen postdoctoral researchers toured the country this week with the organization, spending five days meeting leading companies and academics in the field of pharma and biotechnology. The tour included visits to the facility of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in Netanya and meetings with start-ups at the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment in Rehovot.
The week concluded with an evening at Amazon Web Services’ facility in Tel Aviv, where the researchers were joined by leaders from industry and academia, including Check Point and aMoon founder Marius Nacht, Chief Scientist Dr. Ami Appelbaum and senior officials from Teva.
“The purpose of the workshop is to offer a ‘window into the industry’ for the leading Israeli postdoctoral researchers who are abroad, in order to strengthen the local biotech industry,” said
Mati Gill, senior director of public policy at Teva.
“The researchers are exposed to employment opportunities in Israeli industry and to leading companies in Israel, to develop research and professional relationships, and be able to start planning the next stage of their career,” Gill said. “In addition, finding the most talented Israeli scientists in the world enables collaborations between their research institutions and Israeli industry.”
While available funding for Israeli research laboratories is often less than generous funds on offer abroad, Douani emphasizes the importance of feeling at home.
“It doesn’t matter if they live in the United States for 15 years – Israel is their homeland. Their families are here,” said Douani. “It doesn’t matter if they have two or three test tubes, they care about the value of being close to family.”