Goodbye mind

Slobodan Tomić completed his four-year studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade in three and a half years, with an average of 9,57. After that, he obtained a master's degree from the London School of Economics (LSE), where he enrolled in doctoral studies. He is now an undergraduate teaching assistant at the LSE. In September, the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade announced a competition for the selection of assistants for the narrower scientific field - political economy and finance. Slobodan applied for the competition. The commission, headed by FPN professor Dragan Veselinov, decided to propose another candidate to the Electoral Council. Which in itself would not be disputed if, according to the required criteria, that second candidate was no worse than almost all the others who applied for the competition, if he had not studied basic and master's studies for a total of 12 years and if he did not speak a single foreign language. The whole case would have gone smoothly if one member of the commission had not rebelled and given her "separate opinion", and Slobodan Tomić had sent an objection. At the next session of the electoral council, at the end of December, it will be known whether the commission's "first pick" will pass.

What is this about? How does the mentioned example differ from dozens of others at universities, institutions, companies in Serbia? Not at all. That's exactly the problem. Perhaps the candidate of the FPN commission has extraordinary experience in teaching. However, there are clear criteria for the competition and based on them, the ranking list of candidates is made. At least that's how it should be. If the best candidate is not selected, then why the competition? The domesticated academic practice in Serbia of selecting employees based on personal preferences and appointing "their own people" to various positions, whatever the motive for that subjective selection, is probably one of the main reasons why Guinea-Bissau is the only country in the world that it stands worse than Serbia in terms of brain drain.

photo: reuters

Maybe Slobodan will manage to get a job as an assistant and return to Serbia, many others will not even try to fight the local system, knowing what awaits them all. Which calls the state to account. It is not a problem that a certain number of experts go to Western countries because the working conditions are much better, the salaries are higher and the social standard is at a higher level. It is debatable that the state is (not) doing what is in its power to bring them back, to keep those who want to stay and to prevent further intellectual exodus.

Statistics say the following: according to data from the World Economic Forum, Serbia ranks 139th out of 142 in terms of brain drain. Out of the rest of the world, Burundi, Algeria and Haiti are still behind it. Judging by the data provided by the USAID representative in Serbia, we are second to last. Behind us, only the "better" mentioned African country is Guinea-Bissau. Research by the Student Union of Serbia showed that 27,7 percent of students plan to leave the country forever after graduation. About 45.000 people with university degrees are unemployed at the bureau. Certain calculations say, although there are no official statistics, that every third graduate of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering goes abroad. Although this figure is certainly exaggerated, the fact is that a large number of ETF students go abroad. "For the sake of employment, people go everywhere. Mostly students from technical faculties leave, mostly from the field of electrical engineering and computer science. In order to get a job abroad, the only thing they need is knowledge, which can be verified very easily," the dean of the ETF once explained.

The director of the Mathematical High School, Srđan Ognjanović, stated that in the last few years, out of 100 graduates of this high school, the best 30 continue their education abroad. "If they were to return after completing their studies, it would be a huge potential for Serbia." The state, however, shows no interest in them. I am sure that many would return if they were offered a normal life and a job," he said. The occasion for the conversation with Srđan Ognjanović was the other day, an invitation to the student of our mathematics high school, one of the greatest mathematical talents in the world, Teodor von Burgh, to continue his education abroad, most likely at Oxford. Explaining his decision to leave, Burg stated that he was not satisfied with Serbia's attitude towards young talents and that Serbia's financial support mostly came to students who were worse than him. He added that the salary is not important to him, but the working conditions.

Last year, the Ministry of Science and Technological Development conducted a survey, the results of which showed that every fifth scientist is thinking about leaving the country. The most common reasons are poor working conditions, unresolved housing issues and low incomes. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science was abolished.

MINDING: According to the calculation of the rector of the University of Belgrade, Branko Kovačević, Serbia lost around 12 billion euros due to the departure of young people abroad. Those from natural and technical sciences leave the most.

About 6000 of our researchers work in the United States. It is difficult to determine the exact number because the state does not yet have precise records of experts who have left the country, which again speaks to the degree of (lack of) care. Only in the period from 2000 to 2002, 253 people from Serbia and Montenegro defended their doctorates at US universities, of which 12 percent returned. Certainly, a considerable number of them would not have returned even if Serbia had offered them a job and a decent salary for their income here, but it is also certain that the state does not encourage them. Vladimir Grečić, associate of the Institute for International Politics and Economy, author of the book Serbian scientific diaspora states that a survey of 450 of our students in America and Canada shows that almost 70 percent of them are ready to return, but under certain conditions. None of them mentioned American wages.

One of the problems of young experts who return to the country is the process of nostrification of diplomas. Although many strong world universities do not ask for the "translation" of diplomas from local universities, it is a real adventure here.

"Even if we say that nostrification in itself is something perfectly fine, the question arises why it takes so long, sometimes more than a year? It is literally a matter that can be resolved in less than a day. As if it is some state mechanism that should make it difficult to return. People who want to return are not looking for any special treatment, in the end there is no need for it, but only fair competitions and normal treatment at work," says Slobodan Tomić.

Serbia is not the only one that has problems with nostrification. But when it comes to the region, Croatia has solved it. And while nostrification used to last a year, today it "takes" two months. It used to cost around 400 euros, now 40. The number of requests for nostrification has increased.

STEPS: In Serbia, the Fund for Young Talents was established three years ago, and the scholarship that students and pupils have been receiving since 2010 is called "Dositeja". Scholarships are also given to students who continue their studies abroad. Winners of "Dositeja" are obliged to work in Serbia for five years after completing their studies. This practice is established in most countries that are trying to bring back and (or) keep their intellectual elite at least for a while. However, we as a country have neither a policy nor funds for those who would like to return.

Daniyar Nurmahat is from Kazakhstan. He received a government scholarship to study in London which covers all his expenses. After returning to the country, he started working in the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade within two months. As with us, their scholars are also obliged to work in the country for five years after completing their studies. "As in all developing countries, in Kazakhstan, 'informal' ways are found to get a job. But if you have a degree from abroad, it is easier to find employment. However, the competition is stronger today because many students have completed their studies abroad. A large number of them studied in Central Asia. The government spends about 100 million dollars a year for those scholarships," says Danijar, adding that the vast majority of his friends actually returned to the country after completing their studies.

As for the situation in our region, the neighbors hardly have anything to brag about. According to the report of the World Economic Forum, Macedonia is in 133rd place out of 142, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are between 126th and 131st, Albania is in 83rd place, while Montenegro is in the upper half of the list holding the 46th position (evil tongues would now commented that the experts who made the report probably did not count the brain drain from Montenegro to Serbia). Of the mentioned countries, only Albania has a developed program for returnees.

Finally, our second problem is that Serbia is unable to attract scientists from abroad to work on projects here and to exchange ideas and experiences. Young people leaving for training and staying where they have much better conditions is a normal phenomenon. But those who want to return seem to have brakes at every turn. Which is a good motivation for those who are thinking about what to do, so they decide to go anyway.