Science ‘brain drain’ threatens future of research

The talent drain in Venezuela is seriously affecting science, technology and research in the country, experts warn, leaving it without a critical mass of researchers and scientists that would be difficult to restore without international cooperation, writes Zoraida Portillo for SciDevNet.

Moreover, it stymies future generations of scientists, said specialists who shared figures and testimonies at a series of meetings and academic talks in the Peruvian capital between 25 February and 6 March.

More than three million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, according to the UN Refugee Agency, in an exodus driven by the deterioration of the economy and rising poverty. The exact size of the scientific diaspora is hard to establish but engineering – especially petroleum and hydrocarbons – and careers related to health and education have been hardest hit, evidence presented in Lima suggests. It also showed that Venezuelan migrants have a high level of academic training.
Full report on the SciDevNet site