In recent years: more than 33,000 Israeli academics abroad

The Immigration and Absorption Committee warned about the urgency of returning academics to Israel, encouraging finding jobs, benefits for returning citizens. Chairman of the committee Avraham Ngosa: We must add standards to absorb the returnees

33.073 (5.8%) of the recipients of degrees from higher education institutions in Israel, in the years 1980-1981 to 2010-2011, stayed abroad for three years or more as of 2017, according to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics, revealed by the Immigration and Absorption Committee that discussed "brain drain", and on the way to repatriate Israeli academics from abroad. In the fields of exact sciences and engineering, the percentage of those who stay is higher than of degree recipients in the fields of humanities and social sciences. Of the recipients of a master's degree in medicine, the percentage staying abroad is 9.2%, which is considered an especially high percentage.

According to the initiator of the discussion, MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid), the brain drain phenomenon among academics is a phenomenon that is growing in scope, and from the CBS data, it can be seen that there is a downward trend in the number of returning academics between 2014-2017.

Stern also noted that about 25% of PhD holders in mathematics from Israeli institutions live and work abroad. So are about 20% of those with a third degree in computer science. The CBS data from August 14, 2018 shows that - the immigration balance of Israelis who left Israel compared to the number of Israelis who returned in 2016 was negative and stood at approximately 6.3 thousand Israelis.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the science abroad association, an organization working to maintain contact with Israeli researchers in the world, and to bring them back to Israel. The association helps researchers staying abroad to maintain contact with Israel and to return to Israel to continue their careers in academia and industry.

From the document that the association handed over to the committee, it appears that most of the scientists during or near the end of their post-doctorate show a desire to return to Israel, with priority being given to finding an academic position at the leading institutions. However, for the Israelis who have integrated into the industry in the USA, the desire to return to Israel is lower, because the industry in Israel is less attractive in terms of wages and opportunities.

The motivation to return to Israel stems from a desire to be close to family and friends, the culture, the language and a sense of belonging, a desire to raise children in Israel and the employment of a spouse.

On the other hand, the main barriers to returning to Israel are difficulty in finding an academic position as there is a minority of jobs in Israel compared to the number of graduates, a lack of professional contact with the institutions where they studied or worked in Israel, and economic comfort in the United States and Western Europe compared to life in Israel.

The chairman of the committee, MK Avraham Ngusa (Likud) emphasized that in order to return to Israel the Israeli academics staying abroad, scientists who have already returned to Israel must be supported. According to him, "If we know how to properly absorb those who have returned and make it as easy as possible for them, more returnees will join them. However, if the returnees are frustrated and disappointed, we will not achieve the goal. The returnees have the right to choose between being absorbed in academia and between being absorbed in industry, and the Ministry of Absorption must be the entity that provides answers to all the needs of the returning residents." Ngusa proposed the establishment of an inter-ministerial team, to formulate a comprehensive plan that would encourage the return of the scientists and doctors staying abroad and support them. The team will determine a training and mediation plan for the training of the scientists in the transition from the Academy to Industry in Israel, and publish the main points of the plan in the Jewish communities abroad and on the websites of the government ministries in Israel.

MK Stern added that "Unfortunately, they have temptations and therefore they are forced to leave the country. The magnitude of the challenge requires us to examine all possible motives for the decline and to find solutions. You have to analyze the places you go down to and draw conclusions from that."

Monica Lev-Cohen, CEO of the Organization of Israeli Scientists Abroad, spoke "against the concept of brain drain, it should be called brain drain." The main obstacle to return - because there are not enough standards in the academy and the industry in Israel does not accept the academics enough. Thus it turns out that the main mass of researchers in the USA".

According to Mati Gil, a Teva company representative, "the company has a business need and an unrealized potential to absorb returning scientists, but we are unable to fill vacancies and are waiting for researchers to return. We expect the state to support their training when transitioning from the academy to industry." Dvir Raks, a representative of the Committee of Heads of Universities and the Hebrew University pointed out that the main obstacle in admission to the academy is the lack of standards for the admission of senior faculty. "The cost of absorbing each researcher who returns to Israel is very high and is estimated at 1 million dollars - a one-time investment to build a laboratory, if there is room for it, and to increase the standards requires a lot of money."

The representative of the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption, Garnit Ben Ezra-Zinger replied that "Our goal is to open up many possibilities for absorption in Israel and to help them. We provide personal assistance prior to boarding in the entire range of professions, providing biannual financial assistance to employers in the amount of NIS 61.500 in the first year to the host institution, and this is in addition to scholarships." According to her, in 2018, 133 scientists were absorbed into the industry - 39 returning residents and 94 immigrants.

Eyal Madan, who is responsible for it in the budget department at the Ministry of Finance, also told the committee that the Ministry of Absorption has plans to encourage the immigration of scientists for a total of about NIS 100 million. Among the programs and their original budget in 2018, KMA (absorption of emerging scientists) - NIS 87 million - subsidy and grants for senior scientists. From a 5-year subsidy to a full subsidy until retirement, "Shafira" - 15 million NIS - a 3-year subsidy for non-senior scientists, actions to encourage the immigration of scientists to Israel - 2.25 million NIS - conferences abroad to encourage the return of scientists .

Ido Sofer, coordinator of higher education at the budget nose, added that "the treasury sees the lack of skilled high-tech personnel as the main obstacle to the growth of the industry, and therefore works together with the relevant government ministries and public bodies to address this.

As part of the establishment of the National Innovation Authority, the "social-public arena" was established and operates there, whose role is to deal with the development of the human capital required for the high-tech industry, including increasing the integration of different populations in the industry as well as dedicated actions to encourage the arrival of workers from abroad. In this framework, its role is to perform an effectiveness review of the various tools used to achieve these goals, and to act accordingly.