The study, which is conducted as part of an evaluation that explores a possibility to establish a Technion branch at the Negev, examines the return of faculty members to Israel and their absorption into scientific research institutions. The purpose of the study is to understand the researches' location choices, preferring specific research institutions over other alternatives abroad, or vice versa.
Many countries are investing significant resources aimed at encouraging the return of young scholars who travelled abroad for post-doctoral training and Ph.D. studies. The present study examines the issue and focuses on the considerations underlying the return of young researchers to Israel in general and to the Technion in particular.
The research methods involve personal interviews and field surveys. In the first step, returning faculty members who were recently absorbed at the Technion were interviewed. In order to expand the scope and measure the phenomenon quantitatively, an online questionnaire was circulated, sampling young faculty members at the Technion. This sampling allows the collection of data on various personal characteristics and on the important factors that influence their location choices. In order to avoid bias, the questionnaire was distributed to other sample groups: initially, to returning scientists who were absorbed into other Israeli institutions and then also to those who decided not to return but to remain abroad.
The results of the study will help formulate measures to facilitate the absorption of new staff members (in Israel in general, and at the Technion in particular).
Link to the article:
Israel, E., Cohen, N., Czamanski, D., Return on capital? determinants of counter-migration among early career Israeli STEM researchers in PLOS ONE 14(8): e0220609
