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Text your say: Indonesian brain drain
BJ Habibie - (JP/Jerry Adiguna)Your comments on the call made by former president and cofounder of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI), BJ Habibie, to well-paid Indonesian scientists working abroad to come home so they can help develop the countryâs rich natural resources:It is good to hear former president Habibie persuade Indonesian scientists living abroad to come back to Indonesia
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BJ Habibie - (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
Your comments on the call made by former president and cofounder of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI), BJ Habibie, to well-paid Indonesian scientists working abroad to come home so they can help develop the country's rich natural resources:
It is good to hear former president Habibie persuade Indonesian scientists living abroad to come back to Indonesia.
I remember when my brother, who studied in the Netherlands and is currently working there as well, said to me that a couple years ago Habibie stated in a forum in Aachen to all students who study abroad to not go back to Indonesia before they create something applicable for Indonesia.
With the existence of AIPI itself, I wonder what kind of interesting plans Habibie offered for the future of both the young Indonesian generation and Indonesia itself.
Furthermore, the most important thing is that hopefully it can be effectively implemented as well.
Astrid Hapsari Ningrum
Bandung, West Java
No need to remind them, though. They never forgot. I'm sure Habibie knows why science and politics don't mix in Indonesia.
Mangku
No, just let them work there. We have already lost them.
This indicates those Indonesian people have changed their personalities and have successfully developed themselves to get along with Western culture that is a demanding, honest and hard-working environment.
If Indonesia really wants to take them back, we must develop research and development activities so they will have good reason to return home.
Robby Kaware
So that's the kind of offer that can be given? And yet Indonesia keeps on wondering why its scientists living abroad are reluctant or don't want to come back home?
Well, for a start, Indonesia needs to learn a lot about how developed countries treat and appreciate their research scientists.
Whenever they offer you a research position, they make it literally sounds like this: 'Just bring your brain. Everything else will be taken care of.'
And by everything, they mean all your research needs and facilities, support to help your husband or wife to find a job when needed, support for your children's education, etc.
And as long as you perform well and meet the agreed standards, they are committed to fulfill what they've promised. Can Indonesia do that? If not, then it's better to rethink the idea of asking its scientists to come home.
Itsbad
You have to start somewhere. Besides, that's not the point. Indonesia does not have enough scientists to push forward. You don't have to be very sophisticated, by the way.
The whole bulk of science is lying around you in all sorts of publications; absorbing those will already be a huge leap forward, but to do this we need more hands.
If Indonesia would commit to a research-oriented university, that would work well to keep the bright minds at home.
The scale is not really outside Indonesia's reach; it is the political will that is the problem.
Sudarshana Chakra
Why should they return 'home' and to what? We have poor infrastructure, a lack of IP protection, abysmal research and development facilities, etc., etc.
Chicken
I know a few excellent Indonesian scientists, too. They are clever, they work hard and they have had the opportunity to study abroad, at the cost of great sacrifice to themselves and their families. But this is not the point. The point is that behind all the nationalistic rubbish, the state of Indonesian science is catastrophic.
Sabar P.
I know an Indonesian working at a Airbus facility outside Paris. His wife cannot cope with the Parisian culture and way of life, apparently. Unfortunately, nobody facilitates him to go home.
Animi
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