Migration of Science and Engineering Students and Implications for the Global Workforce
- Paper number
IAC-07-E1.5.01
- Author
Dr. Katie E. Blanding, United States
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Since the 1990s U. S. universities have produced large numbers of foreign students, which has assisted in developing the S&E infrastructure of world economies, and enabling competitiveness for space exploration. These markets have become increasingly important in the global S&T community, and will require competencies to sustain their technological stature. As they mature, international partners will be engaged to complement regional capabilities, share costs, spread market risk, expedite projects, and keep companies attuned to geographic market variations. Companies will need assurance that capabilities exist and are portable beyond their own national boundaries. International degree production focused on S&E will be essential to these markets. Between 1997 and 2002 the number of first university degrees awarded around the world increased from about 6.4 million to 8.7 million. In 2002, engineering degrees awarded in Asia were more than four times the rate of those awarded in North America, and the number of natural science degrees was nearly double. Europe graduated three times as many engineers as North America in 2002. The 1990s showed strong increases in the number of foreign-born individuals holding U. S. S&E jobs. The largest increases were for doctorate holders, and more than half of the engineers holding doctorates and 45% of doctorate holders in the physical sciences, computer sciences, and life sciences were foreign born. The following questions related to the migration of S&T students will be addressed: What are the current statistics on student migration? What global incentives exist for S&E graduates? To what extent are students from industrialized countries migrating to jobs beyond their borders? Is there a reasonable fit between the quantities of degrees, types of degrees and global S&T requirements? References: The National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006, the National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. Jean M. Johnson, Fifth Inter-American Workshop on Science and Engineering Indicators, Mobility of S&E Students and Professional Scientists and Engineers, the National Science Foundation, 2001. B. Lindsay Lowell and Susan Martin, Foreign STEM Students and Workers: Past and Future, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University, 3/2006 The National Academies Press, Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States, the Globalization of Science and Engineering (2005) BLANDING, KATIE E. 3/12/2007
- Abstract document