From Brain Drain to Brain Gain

AVAILABLE FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY | #5 | MAY 2014 FROM BRAIN DRAIN TO BRAIN GAIN THIS QUARTERLY REPORT INCLUDES AN OVERVIEW OF LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE U.S., THE EU AND ASIA IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT HOW RUSSIA MIGHT BENEFIT FROM INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TOP-TIER TALENT Expertise on Russia 24/7 GET ACCESS TO ALL RUSSIA DIRECT REPORTS WITH ONE CLICK QUARTERLY REPORTS (DIGITAL OR PRINT FORMATS) From Brain Drain to Brain Gain Megatons to Megawatts Program Sochi: Going For the Olympic Gold Afghan Endgame: What Comes Next Russian Soft Power 2.0 MONTHLY MEMOS A Five-Step Program For Fixing the Ukraine Crisis Eurasia: Russia’s Link to Europe and Asia Education in Russia: Mapping the Future, Understanding the Past Russia-U.S. Relations: From Stasis to Progress? The Arctic: A New Geopolitical Pivot? Redrawing Eastern Europe Central Asia as Geopolitical Pivot: Three Scenarios For Integration The Middle East. The New Great Game From Cold War to Cyberwar? DOWNLOAD TODAY RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG/ARCHIVE (FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME) For suggestions on future topics please write to Editor-in-Chief [email protected] BRAIN GAIN | #5 | MAY 2014 EDITOR’S NOTE With the unprecedented scale of global workforce mobility, countries have been increasingly entering into a fi erce competi- tion for talent. As states such as Russia are fi nding out, in a rap- idly globalizing economy, shortages of skilled labor can lead to a decline in scientifi c achievement and a loss of economic pro- ductivity. Ultimately, the failure to address a nation’s talent gap could result in a decline in political infl uence in the global arena. Ekaterina Russia is now at a crossroads. After the fall of the Soviet Union, it Zabrovskaya became a net exporter of “brainpower.” However, Russia has not yet passed the critical point of no return and still has signifi cant Editor-in-Chief benefi ts that might help it become a magnet for professionals from all over the world. Important steps, however, need to be taken in the nearest future. This RD Quarterly presents a take on the leading factors for the Russian “brain drain” as well as an assessment of Moscow’s strategy for a future “brain gain.” It also gives 10 specifi c recommendations of how Russia can become more attractive to top talent. The report includes insights from Andrei Korobkov of Middle Tennessee State University, Dmitry Polikanov of the Russian Center for Policy Studies, and Michael Spaeth and Sergej Sum- lenny of Russia Consulting, who comment from the perspective of executive recruiters working in Russia. We invite you to read this May issue of RD Quarterly and share your opinions with us. Please send your thoughts, as well as any questions regarding Russia Direct and its products, to me direct- ly at [email protected]. © Russia Direct 2014 – All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system. The views expressed are those of certain participants in the discussion and do not necessarily refl ect the views of all participants or of Russia Direct. WWW.RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG RUSSIA DIRECT QUARTERLY REPORT 1 BRAIN GAIN | #5 | MAY 2014 CONTENTS 3 Authors 4 Executive summary Introduction 5 Globalization and the Russian ‘brain drain’ − The ‘brain drain’ costs Russia $1 billion per year − Potential consequences of the ‘brain drain’ for Russia − How can Russia reverse the flow of the ‘brain drain’? − The return of the Russian diaspora − How can Russia become more attractive to top talent? − Russia exports talent, but doesn’t import talent Part I 8 What the international experience in ‘brain mobility’ means for Russia − 4 ways to stop ‘brain drain’ − Cultivating ties with diasporas around the world − Putting a number on the scale and scope of the Russian ‘brain drain’ − Leading factors for the Russian ‘brain drain’ − Expat managers vs. Russian managers − The Russian government’s strategy for ‘brain gain’ − Box: How China and India are stopping ‘brain drain’ Part II 16 The ‘brain drain’ in comparative perspective: The US experience − The US experience − 5 components of US migration policy today − Intellectual migration as a tool of ‘soft power’ − Some negative consequences of US immigration policy − Can the US draw on the Canadian experience? − US immigration reform − Lessons for Russia Part III 22 How Russia can fi nd the right personnel in a changing world − Globalization is widening the Russian talent gap − Can Russia attract top foreign talent to fill this talent gap? − Problem #1: Extreme workforce mobility − Problem #2: An educational system that no longer prepares skilled workers − What the future holds for Russia 25 Top 10 policy recommendations 26 Recommended books and articles on ‘brain gain’ 27 Top 10 Twitter accounts for #BrainGain 28 Project team 2 RUSSIA DIRECT QUARTERLY REPORT WWW.RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG BRAIN GAIN | #5 | MAY 2014 AUTHORS Korobkov, Andrei Andrei Korobkov is Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennes- see State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Institute of International Economic and Political Studies of the Russian Acad- emy of Sciences as well as a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Uni- versity of Alabama. He previously worked as Research Fellow at the Institute of International Economic and Political Studies of the Rus- sian Academy of Sciences and taught at the University of Alabama. Korobkov is the author of more than a hundred academic works. Polikanov, Dmitry Dmitry Polikanov is Vice President of the PIR Center (The Russian Center for Policy Studies). From 2007-2012 he was one of the found- ers and key managers of the “Human Resources Reserve — Pro- fessional Team of the Nation” federal project. Since 2012, he has participated as an expert of the HR working group of the Open Gov- ernment in Russia. He graduated from MGIMO-University (Moscow State Institute of International Relations) and received his Ph.D. in Political Science there in 1999. Spaeth, Michael Michael Spaeth is a Director and board member of Russia Consulting. Before 2012, he was an executive director at Konsu Oy, a business process outsourcer, and a research offi cer on the board of Salzburg München Bank AG. Spaeth has a Ph.D. in Economics from University of Munich. He has been living in Moscow since 2006 and is fl uent in Russian. Sumlenny, Sergej Sergej Sumlenny is Head of Public Relations at Russia Consulting and Germany Consulting. From 2006 until 2013 he worked as a Ger- man correspondent and chief of the Berlin bureau at leading Russian business weekly Expert. Before that, he worked as Chief Editor of a daily news program at Russian business TV RBC and as producer at the Moscow bureau of German TV and Radio ARD. Sumlenny has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Russian Academy of Sciences. WWW.RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG RUSSIA DIRECT QUARTERLY REPORT 3 BRAIN GAIN | #5 | MAY 2014 EXECUTIVE As Russia looks to play an increasingly important role in global institutions SUMMARY such as the WTO and the G20, and as the Russian economy increasingly opens up to international trade, it’s also forcing a re-think of how globalization is impacting the composition of the Russian workforce. In some cases, globalization is leading to a “brain drain” as Russian workers choose to migrate abroad in search of better employment opportunities. In other cases, it’s leading to the creation of “brain gain” initiatives such as Skolkovo that help Russian cities attract and retain top-tier talent. In both cases, long-term trends set in place by globalization are leading to new thinking by Russian government leaders about the relative merits of immigration reform and the need for enhanced funding for the sciences and education. What follows is an overview of key trends within the Russian talent market, with an emphasis on new measures and initiatives that might help to reverse the Russian “brain drain” to the West; narrow the talent gap within Russia’s major metropolitan employment markets; and help to prepare the Russian economy for the next stage of globalization by creating a new generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and experienced managers. This RD Quarterly includes an overview of lessons learned from the U.S., the EU and Asia in order to highlight how Russia might benefi t from international best practices. It also includes insights from Russian administrators, academics and executive recruiters about how best to think about the future of the globalizing Russian workforce, especially in relation to global workforce mobility and the fl ow of talent across national borders. SHUTTERSTOCK/LEGION-MEDIA 4 RUSSIA DIRECT QUARTERLY REPORT WWW.RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG GLOBALIZATION AND THE RUSSIAN ‘BRAIN DRAIN’ Dmitry Polikanov INTRODUCTION SHUTTERSTOCK/LEGION-MEDIA The international affairs arena is increasingly a fierce rivalry for all type of resources — not only energy and mineral resources, but also talent n 2005, British experts made forecasts about the world 50 In 2013, global migration was approximately 232 million people,1 years into the future. This sophisticated review, which covered or nearly 3 percent of the world population — and this is only the Itechnological developments as well as socio-economic trends, offi cial data of the United Nations, which does not take into account maintained that, in 20 years, China would become a global scien- the hidden fl ows of migrants. Many of them are not just seeking a tifi c superpower, while Singapore, South Korea and Brazil would better lot in the developed countries and willing to take on low- be among the scientifi c leaders struggling to fi nd the right skilled paid jobs.

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