Israeli scientists working abroad yearn to return home, but without sufficient funding, shortage of academic positions, and absorption issues this dream seems out of reach
Moshe Ronen
Israel News
Is a lack of funding fueling the brain drain? Dr. Korenblit Sivan is one of 25 scientists returning to Israel after working for Ivy League universities out west, who have now returned to work at Israeli research centers. Five new positions have opened up at the Life Sciences Faculty in the Bar-Ilan University," she said, addressing Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar. "Eighty Israeli scientists jumped at the opportunity. They all wanted to return home. Five were picked, and 75 remained abroad. As you can see, the issue isn't the Israeli scientists' unwillingness to return, but rather the lack of funding to bring them here."
The education minister listened thoughtfully. He wrote down what she said in great detail and announced his intention to hold a personal meeting with the Education Ministry's director general to discuss the issue.
The good news that came out of the conference for returning scientists held on Monday in Jerusalem was that Israel is still an attractive country in the eyes of researchers, who are otherwise very successful abroad. Most of the Israeli scientists working in Ivy League universities in the United States yearn to come back home and work at Israeli universities.
But this is just wishful thinking. The bad news is that almost all of them remain abroad. Only a small percentage of Israeli scientists working and studying abroad make it back to Israel.
With the current budgets, even after additional budget increases for this specific purpose, the Israeli academy can only take in so many of them. So instead of enriching the Israeli universities with thousands of researchers and lecturers that can lead Israel to great academic achievements – most Israeli scientists working overseas are forced to stay where they are.
About 25% of Israeli scientists work abroad. "This is the highest percentage in the world," emphasizes Professor Manuel Trachtenberg, head of the budget and planning committee for higher education. "There is no other country in the world where a quarter of its scientists have left to work somewhere else. Canada is in second place with 12%, and they share a border with the US."
So what is the Education Ministry doing about it? "The plan is to add 2,000 lecturer positions at universities in the next six years," Trachtenberg says. "Within five years there will be an estimated 30% increase in positions for researchers and scientists. This year the universities received an additional NIS 620 million (roughly $170 million). Next year they will get another NIS 450 million (about $123 million), and so on in the coming years."
Absorption Difficulties
In this week's conference, held near the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem, 25 Israeli scientists, who returned home after a few years abroad and were successful in finding a job in Israel, were presented to the audience.
One of the toughest problems Israeli scientists working overseas who want to return home is the lack of academic positions at Israeli universities. "We used to have 12 positions for scientists and lecturers in our department, but today we only have nine and half," says Dr. Itai Haviv, Geological and Environmental Science lecturer at the Ben-Gurion University. "In the Tel Aviv University's Physics Department they cut about 50% of the positions. Cutbacks are being made everywhere due to the budget cuts in the last decade."
Trachtenberg presents similiar data. "Senior professors retired but no one took their place," he says. "This is why the average age of an Israeli lecturer is 55 – older than any other lecturer in any important university around the world."
Statistics confirm their statements. In 2003, the Tel Aviv University had 1,470 professors and senior lecturers. Today it has less than 1,000. The case is roughly the same in other universities.
Most of the scientists returning home are in their thirties, married with children. Just like any new immigrants, they encounter absorption difficulties
Almost all of them got their doctorate in Israel and went on to get their post-doctorate in leading universities in North America. They then decided to return home, despite the great temptation US and Canadian rich and prestigious universities can offer.
It appears they felt satisfaction hearing that the education minister himself requested to meet them and hear what they have to say. Each of them has a story, but they all tell of Israeli friends in US universities who want nothing more than to return to their homeland.
Due to claims of bureaucrat problems, Trachtenberg appointed a person to mediate between the scientists and the governmental offices. Some of their problems have to do with their children's education. These children, who were brought up in excellent American schools, have a hard time adjusting to Israeli elementary schools.
One of the scientists said that his son kept complaining about his teacher always yelling. "When we went to parents' day in school," he says, "we approached her and asked her why she yells. She looked at our kid with amazement and asked, 'What? Do teachers not yell in the US?'"
Following the Wife
Only four out of the 25 scientists at the meeting were women. Dr. Galia Blum, senior lecturer at the Hebrew University School of Pharmacy, is one of them. She returned home after six years at the number two university in the world - Stanford University. "It's not easy for women to work in the field of science," she says. "It's hard to be a mother and a scientist. You can't do it without the help of a serious partner."
Dr. Blum is speaking from experience. When she finished her doctorate six years ago she decided to do her post-doctorate in Stanford, but her husband was working as an important government clerk. He eventually quit his job for the sake of his wife's career and together with their three children they traveled to California.
Dr. Korenblit agrees with the statistic regarding fewer women in sciences. "It's a phenomenon. Amongst BA students, there are more women than men. Later on, the percentage of women starts to drop. The dramatic change happens after they finish the doctorate. Something changes when they get to the post-doctorate – most women don't continue."
Korenblit's husband left his job at a known high-tech company in order to help fulfill his wife's dream. "The first year in the US was very tough," she recalls, "my husband didn't have a working permit in the US and it took him three months to receive one. We were a young couple with a small child, and almost no money." She says that it's not easy making a living on a post-doctorate salary. "A year went by before it all finally worked out." Their second child was born in the US. After seven years abroad, they decided to come back to Israel.
When one hears about their hardships in Israel, one might think that they are better off staying abroad. But despite all of the temptations the US has to offer, the Israeli scientists wish to come back home. It all depends on the country's readiness to invest in the issue and to increase funding in order to brink them back.
No comments:
Post a Comment