Israel mulls perks for professors to stymie brain drain
Netanyahu suggests recruiting help of Jewish foundations to pull top researchers and lecturers back to Israel.
By Barak Ravid Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu Israel newsPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers on Sunday at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that Israel needed to work hard to create a "vacuum" to keep academics from traveling abroad to pursue their careers or studies.
During the meeting, ministers presented data on the Israeli brain drain, showing that a high number of lecturers and researchers at top universities in the U.S. were Israeli expatriates.
Netanyahu said that many U.S. institution have established special foundations to supply salary and research grants for senior professors.
"Is it possible to grant a differential salary to the star lecturers in Israel as well?" Netanyahu asked.
He emphasized that Israel "needs to establish special bodies to act as a vacuum for those Israeli researchers and lecturers, to bring them back to Israel's academic institutions."
Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Manuel Trachtenberg, the Higher Education Council's chairman of the committee for budget and planning, are to present to the government within six weeks a plan for such foundations, to pull back Israeli researchers and end the brain drain.
The plan is to recruit funds from Jewish foundations. The government has specified that the plan be created with the recommendations of senior faculty associations and university chairmen.
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Perks for professors won't solve the brain drain! The problem is not with the senior professors, but with their students who cannot find jobs! They are the ones who are leaving for abroad because who wants to waste their academic career as an pathetic adjunct lecturer in Israel, which is the only job offered to newly minted PhDs, and even those are being cut back.
A very good idea as it will help research, development and economic strength as ultimate employment & trade increase to benefit of many and advance state interests
Please move to America. We need intelligent, educated people. Israel has chosen to turn it's back upon you. We welcome you.
It was those evil Labor Zionists that thought promoting education was the key to Israel's future. Every conservative knows that education usually leads to liberalism. And thus education is evil. Is not the money better spent upon smiting Palestinians than educating Israelis? I know what America's conservatives believe. And they are blood brothers to Israel's radical right.
Even Israel has a number of senior professors who enjoy the status and perks, but do little to advance their departments or discipline. For its part, the government needs to fund new positions and the kind of salaries and research facilities that will keep people in Israel. This is most critical in the economics, engineering and science sectors.
Please. Get rid of the academics. They are drag on the economy and produce nothing. All they do is write requests for research grants. Then quite often fake the research. Either that or write meaningless drivel like string theory.