Cross-border Mobility of Young Researchers Kimmo Viljamaa European Parliament ITRE Committee meeting 15 October, 2009 Advansis Oy Logotech SA i.con. innovation GmbH Mr Kimmo Viljamaa & Mr Kimmo Halme Mr George Strogylopoulos Dr. Rolf Reiner & Mr Christoph Gelzer Advansis Oy, Itälahdenkatu 22 A b, FI-00210 Helsinki www.advansis.fi
Contents What is meant by researcher mobility? Why is researcher mobility important? Researcher mobility in Europe Main challenges to researcher mobility Main EU measures and initiatives Adoption of Charter and Code Recommendations 2
What is meant by researcher mobility? Researchers moving freely around the EU rather than just migrating Short-term and long-term mobility Inward mobility (attracting researchers from abroad) and outward mobility (researchers going abroad) Physical mobility and virtual mobility Intersectoral mobility (academia-industry, academia-academia) Special emphasis on the cross-border mobility of young researchers 3
Why is researcher mobility important? Better match between supply and demand for researchers across Europe Improved research performance and specialisation Accumulation of a critical mass of human resources Centres of excellence Better job matching for highly specialised workforce Better productivity and career development Increased collaborative research and knowledge transfer Research better applied in policy and practice Improved research performance Increasing need for new highly educated research workforce Knowledge based economy needs more researchers Aging of the current research labour force Increased global competition for talent 4
Researcher mobility in Europe Low Medium High Inward mobility BG, GR, PL, DK, SI, HU, PT, LV, IS, CZ, LT, IT, SV, TR, EE, ES, RO 17 IR, NL, AT, NO, HR, SE, CY 7 LU, CH, UK, IE, DE, FR 6 Outward mobility BG, PL, SI, HU, UK, IE, CZ, NO, TR, EE 10 LU, DK, PT, AT, IT, SV, HR, SE, ES 9 GR, CH, IR, NL, LV, IS, LT, CY, RO, DE, FR 11 Inward mobility Decreasing Stable Fluctuating Increasing IS 1 BG, GR, CH, IR, HU, PT, CZ, LT, IT, SV, DE 11 DK, SI, MT, EE, FR 5 PL, FI, LU, NL, LV, UK, IE, AT, NO, TR, HR, ES, CY, RO, SE 15 Outward mobility FI, HU 2 GR, LU, UK, IE, CZ, CY 6 DK, NL, LV, IS, NO, DE, FR 7 BG, PL, CH, IR, PT, NL, AT, MT, LT, IT, SV, TR, HR, EE, ES, RO, SE 17 Source: Tsipouri, L. (2009) ERAWATCH, Analytical Policy Mix Report 2009: Synthesis Report 5
Main challenges to researcher mobility 1. Funding for mobility and salary 2. Social security and pension (maintaining and transferring) 3. Lack of opportunities for career progression 4. Language issues 5. Lack of recognition of mobility experience in career development 6. Lack of information regarding the availability of job opportunities 7. Lack of open competitive international recruitment 8. Immigration rules (from outside the EU) 9. Contractual and legal issues (e.g. transferability of funding, short term contracts) 10.Unwillingness to risk losing talented young researchers abroad 6
Main EU measures and initiatives Marie Curie Actions (FP7 People ) Various training and mobility programmes for researchers European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers Fair and more transparent practices for recruitment of researchers Bologna process Degree standards and compatibility between the Member States A directive to adopt a Scientific Visa for third-country researchers Several information services that support mobility (EC & MS) The European Researchers Mobility Portal, ERA-MORE, EURAXESS A partnership between the Commission and Member States to ensure the availability of the necessary researchers (2008) Joint actions in 4 key areas (recruitment, pensions and social security, employment and working conditions and training of researchers) 7
Adoption of Charter and Code In 2005 EC adopted the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The objective was to set up the responsibilities for various actors to make recruitment of researchers fairer and more transparent in the Member States Progress has been slow in many Member States Answer Options The great majority Some Very few Countries PL, CH, DK, BE, UK, LT, SV, SE, FR, IR FI, LU, IS, IE, AT, IT, CY GR, Si, HU, PT, NL, LV, CZ, MT, NO, TR, EE, ES, RO, DE Source: Tsipouri, L. (2009) ERAWATCH, Analytical Policy Mix Report 2009: Synthesis Report 8
Recommendations The EU-level measures alone are not enough in overcoming the obstacles for researcher mobility EU may make sure that the Member States actively participate in the partnership European partnership for researchers Initiatives to address social security and pension issues may be further emphasised E.g. a European Researcher Pass, possible EU-level pension arrangements The adoption of Charter and Code may be further emphasised Further support for overcoming financial challenges E.g. Portability of grants, support for host institutions, researcher mobility vouchers Measures to increase researcher mobility from third countries E.g. encouraging Member States to incorporate the Scientific Visa Package into their legislation and grants for returning researchers Integrating researcher mobility with other innovation support measures A need for a sound data base in order to measure the impact of mobility 9
Thank you! 10