With attention, sympathy and affection we read the tribune “An invisible diaspora” in which Antonio Muñoz Molina masterfully illustrates the daily and emotional reality of so many of us, professionals who, after much of their training in Spain, have moved abroad for work reasons. We believe that the flight of talent is a tragedy for the country that shaped us and that it often creates in expatriates a bitter feeling of alienation both in our host country and in the country of origin. However, international mobility also represents an invaluable personal and professional enrichment, as it favors adaptation to new work environments, collaboration with professionals from different cultural contexts and the integration of other ways of thinking. The problem arises when emigration is forced by a lack of opportunities in the country of origin, disrupting the delicate balance between the inflow and outflow of talent, as happened dramatically after the Great Recession of 2008 and continues today.
As a result, associations of Spanish scientists and researchers began to form in different countries more than a decade ago. In 2018, these associations were merged into RAICEX, the network of associations of Spanish researchers and scientists abroad, which currently includes 22 associations with more than 4,500 members in 35 countries. RAICEX not only provides professional and personal support in host countries to Spanish researchers abroad, but also conveys the knowledge that its members have acquired through work in the science, technology and innovation systems of these countries. This is done to strengthen the Spanish system and promote the attraction of talent to Spain, with the ultimate desire to contribute to the progress of the country that shaped us.
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At RAICEX, we have always argued that public and private science and technology initiatives should focus not on return on investment, but on retention and attraction of talent. To achieve this, a structural change in the Spanish system is essential that removes administrative hurdles, promotes the stability of public-private investments and reduces salary differences compared to other countries. Only in this way, by providing long-term stability, resources and professional dignity, will Spain be able to consolidate itself as a competitive and internationally attractive country, both for researchers abroad, regardless of their nationality (talent attractiveness), and for others in Employees based in Spain who do not want or cannot leave the country (talent retention).
It is also important to promote positive measures that mitigate the structural asymmetry that disadvantages foreign talent in their integration into the Spanish science and technology system. For example, facilitating the recognition of higher education degrees and academic achievements obtained abroad, supporting an effective regulation of dual membership in foreign institutions and promoting a system that favors the international mobility of talent.
Without a doubt, the fact that there is a diaspora that is not invisible but very active and organized is essential not only for its contribution to society but also for building a support network and creating a human environment that supports it perhaps allowing us to share around a few lentils or rice soup (like Muñoz Molina), our experiences, concerns and assertions about the future of Spanish science.
Francisco VilaplanaProfessor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden) and former president of RAICEX and the Association of Spanish Scientists in Sweden (ACES).
Igor ArrietaPostdoctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham (UK) and co-director of science policy at the Society of Spanish Scientists in the UK (CERU)
Alvaro de la Cruz DombrizResearcher Beatriz Galindo University of Salamanca and Deputy Secretary General of RAICEX.
Irene Echeverria AltunaPhD student at the University of Oxford (UK) and President of the Society of Spanish Scientists in the United Kingdom (CERU)
Javier Pardo DiazSenior Program Manager at UK Research and Innovation (United Kingdom), Member of Science Policy of RAICEX and Vice President of the Society of Spanish Scientists in the United Kingdom (CERU)
The text was reviewed by the Science Policy and Talent Attraction Commission of RAICEX
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