Brain drain, the diaspora of Brazilian scientists

Brazil may have lost about 6,700 scientists in recent years, who went to continue their research abroad, according to estimates by the Center for Management and Strategic Studies, conveyed to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Lack of investment, research grants frozen for 9 years, budget cuts for equipment maintenance. The reasons are many and complex, but it has caused the academic diaspora or the so-called brain drain in the country. This is the theme of the next episode of Caminhos da Reportagem. One of the Brazilian women who stands out on the international scene is Duília de Mello, an astronomer and astrophysicist. In 1997, she went to the United States to work on the Hubble telescope project and never returned. Today, she is Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Washington DC and a NASA collaborator. She left Brazil after a cut in scholarships from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). “When I left, I didn’t know it would be permanent, I thought I would come back, like my colleagues from my generation who are astronomers and are in Brazil.” Ricardo Galvão Photo: the country trains more scientists than it employs. Press Release / TV Brasil The astronomer had finished completing a doctorate here – years of investment by the country in her career and now her knowledge is used abroad. This is not a rarity. According to the president of CNPq, Ricardo Galvão, the country trains many more scientists than it manages to employ today. “We are currently graduating 24,000 doctors a year, but job offers, public tenders, etc., do not reach 1,000.” In recent years, the lack of investment in science and technology in the country has been drastic. Cuts in funding for federal universities, which barely had enough money to pay for water and energy. In the budget destined for scientific research, between 2014 and 2022 there was a reduction of 60%. Master’s and doctoral scholarships remained unchanged for 9 years, registering losses of 66.6% when the value is corrected for inflation. Resumption For 2023, the prospects are better. At the beginning of the year, the federal government announced the resumption of investments, with a 44% increase in resources for CNPq and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes). If it weren’t for that, the president of Capes, Mercedes Bustamante, assesses that the institution would only have a budget to reach September. President of Capes, Mercedes Bustamante – Divulgation/TV Brasil In addition to scholarships, it is also necessary to focus on other areas so that research can be resumed. “It is necessary to allocate more resources for the recomposition of our technological park and laboratories, it is necessary to make investments in the maintenance of the research activities, in the purchase and recovery of equipment. So it’s about having well-paid professionals and adequate working conditions,” says Bustamante. “We need to allocate more resources to recompose our technology park and laboratories.” For Renato Janine Ribeiro, who today chairs the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC), it is also necessary to define what we can be the best at. Renato Janine Ribeiro, president of SBPC – Divulgação/TV Brasil “What are the scientific researches, the areas in which we can be leaders? We cannot be in all. We have to choose some sectors that we want to be protagonists”, he concludes. the diaspora of Brazilian scientists, from Caminhos da Reportagem, airs this Sunday (30), at 10 pm on TV Brasil.

Agência Brasil