Italy has a strong tradition as a country of emigrants. It is thought that the approximately 60 million Italians living in the peninsula are accompanied by as many abroad. In the past, our country has exported many “arms” looking for work; in recent decades, the outflow was mainly of “brains”: researchers, doctors, artists, entrepreneurs, managers, skilled workers. This is not about brain exchange but brain drain: the net flow of highly qualified human resources is heavily biased towards the outflow.
What to do? Remove some of the underlying problems in the academic world and in employment by supporting merit and transparency, and eliminating rigidity. Enhance the important tradition of Italian university and research.Focus on those centers of excellence that Italy still has to retain and attract talent. Make better use of the network of Italians abroad. In this sense, the Indian experience in the implementation of the “network” strategy is very interesting.
Read the full article [pdf] [ita]
Marco Magnani – Il Sole 24 Ore 10.08.2015