Help Wanted. Looking for American researchers.
As President Trump cuts billions of federal dollars from science institutes and universities, restricts what can be studied and pushes out immigrants, rival nations are hoping to pick up talent that has been cast aside or become disenchanted.
For decades, trying to compete with American institutions and companies has been difficult. The United States was a magnet for top researchers, scientists and academics. In general, budgets were bigger, pay was bigger, labs and equipment were bigger. So were ambitions.
In 2024, the United States spent nearly $1 trillion — roughly 3.5 percent of total economic output — on research and development. When it came to the kind of long-term basic research that underpins American technological and scientific advancements, the government accounted for about 40 percent of the spending.
That’s the reason political, education and business leaders in advanced countries and emerging economies have long fretted over a brain drain from their own shores. Now they are seizing a chance to reverse the flow.
“This is a once-in-a-century brain gain opportunity,” the Australian Strategic Policy Institute declared, as it encouraged its government to act.
Last week, at the urging of more than a dozen members, the European Union announced it would spend an additional 500 million euros, or $556 million, over the next two years to “make Europe a magnet for researchers.”
Such a sum is paltry when compared with U.S. budgets. So it’s understandable if their appeals are met with a request to “show me the money.”
After all, salaries tend to be much lower in Europe. In France, for example, a 35-year-old researcher can expect to earn around €3,600 (about $4,000) a month before taxes, according to the French Education and Research ministry. A postdoctoral fellow at Stanford would stand to earn the equivalent of around €6,000 (about $6,685) a month in the United States.
Still, there is interest. Of 1,600 people who responded to a March poll in the journal Nature — many of them Ph.D. or postdoctoral students in the United States — three out of four said they were considering leaving the country because of the Trump administration’s policies.
And Europe’s more generous social safety net can make up for a large part of the salary differential, said Patrick Lemaire, the president of the College de Sociétés Savantes Académiques de France, an arm of an international council that represents about 50,000 academics in France.
“There is much less money in Europe, and the salaries are much lower,” he said. “But you also have very good social security and health care, which is free; school and university tuition are free.”
Here are some of the pitches offered by countries and universities around the world.
France
In addition to the European Union, France pledged to put cash on the table last week. President Emmanuel Macron said his government would spend $113 million on a program to attract American researchers.
Other academic institutions are putting up their own money. Aix Marseilles University said it would spend up to $16.8 million to fund 15 foreign researchers. The offer has so far attracted more than 50 applicants, according to the journal Science. The University of Paris-Saclay is also establishing five new positions for American researchers.
Spain
Diana Morant, the minister of science, innovation and universities in Spain, said the government was budgeting an additional €45 million to lure scientists “despised or undervalued by the Trump administration.” The program offers American researchers an extra $200,000 grant on top of a million-dollar package normally offered.
Catalonia, Spain’s prosperous northeastern region, announced a $34 million program to attract American researchers who “can see their academic freedom restricted.” Twelve universities will be helping to sponsor 78 “high quality” scientists in total from the United States over the next three years.
Denmark
Set to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” an Instagram post by Brian Mikkelsen, the chief executive of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, made this appeal: “This is a direct invitation to American researchers.” Talented people are losing their jobs or funding because politics is overshadowing science, he said. “We want you to know there is an alternative. In Denmark, we value science. We believe in facts.” He said the chamber and the society of engineers were asking to fast-track 200 positions for researchers over the next three years. There was no mention of funding.
Sweden
Johan Pehrson, Sweden’s minister of education, organized a meeting last month with officials from nine universities to discuss how to attract disgruntled talent. “To American academics and scientists: We need you!” he wrote on X. Alas, there was no musical accompaniment or money mentioned.
Norway
“Academic freedom is under pressure in the U.S.,” said Jonas Gahr Store, the prime minister of Norway. The government is offering 100 million kroner, or $9.6 million, to fund experienced American and other international researchers next year.
Britain
The Labour Party government is reportedly planning to spend 50 million pounds, or $66 million, to finance and relocate international scientists.
Canada
The University Health Network in Toronto and other foundations are devoting 30 million Canadian dollars ($21.5 million) to recruit 100 young scientists from the United States and elsewhere. In April, the University of British Columbia initiated “U.S. Applicant Week” and reopened applications for some graduate programs to give American students another chance to apply.
Portugal
Citing Trump administration policies, Portugal’s NOVA Medical School announced that it would budget an additional $2 million to cover the salaries of “international researchers of excellence” for three years and some relocation costs.
Austria
“The destruction of freedom of science and democracy in the U.S.A. leaves me speechless,” Eva-Maria Holzleitner, the minister of women, science and research, said in an Instagram video. “We are working on programs to provide a safe haven for students and scientists at risk.”
Last month, Austria opened its own national portal on Euraxess — Researchers in Motion, a platform supported by 43 European nations that offers a wide database of job offers, scholarships and grants as well as information about organizing a research project in Europe.
Australia
The Australian Academy of Science began a global talent search last month, with its president stating there was an “urgent and unparalleled opportunity to attract the smartest minds leaving the United States.” The callout asked for donations to finance the effort.
Ireland, Belgium, South Korea and China have also talked about starting programs directed at researchers, scientists and students in the United States.
Liz Alderman contributed reporting from Paris.
Source: nytimes.com
