The Bet of Return

What needs to change in education and research for Greek scientists abroad to come back?

Five distinguished Greek professors in the United States — all of them either founding members or members of the International Advisory Committee of Komvos — share their views and proposals with To Vima and Marny Papamatthaiou on how Greece could turn the brain drain into a driver of development.

The phenomenon of scientific brain drain from Greece to other countries is longstanding and deep-rooted. Over the past decade, it has been exacerbated by the fiscal crisis and the absence of a coherent policy on research and innovation. Today, however, the international landscape is shifting.

The United States — traditionally the global superpower of scientific excellence — is at a turning point. Cuts in public funding, suspension of research programs, and policies restricting academic freedom in higher education are raising concern and prompting mobility. According to a recent Nature survey, 75% of researchers in the U.S. are seriously considering relocation, with Europe and Canada emerging as primary destinations.

This development presents a historic opportunity for Greece. Can the country craft a strategy for the “return” of its diaspora scientists?

Professors Konstantinos Drosatos, Petros Koumoutsakos, Maria Mavroudi, George Tsokos, and Angelos Chaniotis agree: Greece stands before a unique opportunity to repatriate scientific talent — provided that it implements substantial reforms in education, research, and the integration of science with society.

A common thread in their positions is the urgent need for:

Long-term strategy and stable research funding
Meritocracy, transparency, and less bureaucracy in universities and research centers
Stronger connections between the scientific community and society at large
Creation of flexible networks that leverage the potential of the diaspora

The debate on turning brain drain into brain gain cannot be limited to wishful thinking. It requires a systematic, consistent, and forward-looking strategy. As the interventions of the five professors (among many others who have spoken on the issue) make clear, the return of diaspora scientific capital is possible — but not without serious institutional and political change.

Greece has the opportunity to reset its relationship with the global scientific community. The question is whether it will choose to seize it.

Voices from the Diaspora:

“President Trump’s attack on U.S. academic and research institutions is a first-class opportunity for Europe.”
— Maria Mavroudi, Professor of Byzantine History and Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley; Founding Member of Komvos
“The incentives currently offered — such as tax relief for returning Greeks — are not enough.”
— Angelos Chaniotis, Professor of Ancient History and Classics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton; Chairman of the Board of Komvos
“I would return to Greece when politicians decide to change course and allow scientists to coordinate research — when they finally do the obvious, as has been the norm in the rest of the world for decades.”
— Konstantinos G. Drosatos, Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology, holder of the “Ohio Eminent Scholar” chair at the University of Cincinnati Medical School, USA.; President of ARISTEIA Institute USA; Secretary General of Komvos
“At this point in my career, I would return if I were given the means to build something unique — for Greece and for global science.”
— Petros Koumoutsakos, Professor of Computing in Engineering & Sciences, Harvard University; Co-founder of the Hellenic Institute of Advanced Studies (HIAS); Member of the Advisory Committee of Komvos
“I fear that young scientist-migrants — nearly half a century later, like myself — will remain in the diaspora with a perpetual, incurable nostalgia.”
— George Tsokos, Professor of Pathology, Harvard University, Director of the Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston; Founding Member of Komvos