The State has been witnessing a growing support from its academic diaspora towards its novel ‘brain gain’ programme. Over 200 scholars from across the globe have evinced interest in partnering with higher education institutions as short-term teachers, part-time collaborators and co-supervisors in research.
Spearheaded by the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), the programme aims at locating experts in various disciplines to create a network of academics of Keralite origin.
As many as 220 scholars representing different sectors of knowledge areas have currently registered in KSHEC’s brain gain portal. They include academics, IT, management and medical professionals from various places, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Japan, West Asia and Europe. While over a hundred registrants were engaged in science disciplines, the others represented arts and humanities, engineering, management and medicine.
In addition, 110 scholars, scientists and professionals from reputed academic and research institutions in India have also expressed willingness in collaborating for the initiative.
“We seek to use brain gain as a strategy to check brain drain which has become a major phenomenon and has caused national loss in developing countries. While the best brains are pushed out due to the uncongenial socio-economic processes, they are pulled by advanced countries through good economic incentives and academic environments of eminent institutions,” council vice chairman P.M. Rajan Gurukkal said.
He pointed out the initiative intended to bring well-qualified non-resident or repatriated Indian academics who are famed for rare discoveries to engage in teaching and research endeavours in Kerala during their sabbatical leave.
While 20 scholars have submitted comprehensive academic proposals on the topics they wished to teach and share ideas, the KSHEC hopes to link them with universities and research institutions that are engaged in research in the respective areas of expertise.
According to KSHEC member secretary Rajan Varughese, the council will play the role of a facilitator by enabling universities to engage scholars who have offered to brain storm with their faculty and students. They will be brought under the council’s erudite scholar-in-residence programme for lectures in various universities.
