Visiting Professors
A Way to Repatriate Greek Academic Talent
Three Ways to Reverse Academic Brain Drain in Greece
by Georgios Laskaris, Nikos Tsopoulidis, Georgia Mavrommati & Evangelos Papathanasiou
Proposal Overview
During the financial crisis, Greece experienced a mass exodus of talent: 500,000 people left after 2010, the majority of which hold higher education degrees. Greece is now recovering from the crisis, and has entered a new era of economic growth. This growth needs to be sustained by science and technology. To that end, Greece needs to repatriate its lost talent, particularly those holding positions in academia to propel the country’s growth on the basis of a knowledge economy.
In our proposal we outline three ways to reverse brain drain for Greece’s Higher Education:
Visiting professors: Offer visiting professor appointments for 6 months up to 3 years, working remotely or having a physical presence at the campus.
The COVID-19 pandemic allowed many Greek professors teaching abroad to host guest lectures in Greek universities. This shift in working, combined with the increase of English speaking programs in Greek universities, provide renewed opportunities for establishing visiting professor appointments. By attract distinguished faculty and scientists from abroad this program aims to transfer knowledge, facilitate scientific collaboration, and create long-term educational partnerships.
Early-career faculty positions: Establish a short-term professor position (3-5 years) for early-career scientists, with the prospect of becoming an independent investigator in Greek academia.
Many highly trained Greek academics, are transitioning into jobs in the private sector due to a shortage of academic positions offered. This group of early-career scientists abroad embodies a significant reservoir of exceptional innovative potential. Establishing a short-term professor position, would offer early-career scientists an early opportunity to quickly transition into an independent researcher position, with the prospect of transition into a full-time role in the future. Cluster hiring
Hiring the best: For the long-term, establish named academic chairs, with competitive compensation and start-up funding. For the short-term, named chairs should be established in academic areas with major gaps.
Hiring the best would require a national plan, mimicked after China’s “Thousand Talents program”. The program would have two mechanisms: long-term recruitment and short-term appointments. Long-term awardees would be supported by an named academic chair, receiving a one-million-euro start-up package and attractive compensation. They will be able apply for national funds, manage research projects, and hold leadership positions. . Short-term candidates focus on urgent areas, work with clear objectives, and sign contracts for at least 3 consecutive years with defined intellectual property rights.
Proposal Impact
In July 2020 the Greek Parliament ratified a new law for Higher Education that aimed to improve the quality and functionality of Greek Universities as well as increasing their linkages with society (Law #4957/2022). This law included the proposal made by our team to introduce Visiting Professors in Greek Universities (Article #171). This article allows Greek or foreign scientists who hold a professor or research position abroad can become visiting professors or visiting scientists in Greek Universities for a period ranging between one semester and three years.
In addition, a budget of €85mn has been allocated to such positions funded through Greece 2.0 (This is the brand name for the EU Resilience and Recovery Fund program for Greece). Professors and researchers interested in becoming Visiting Professors or Researchers in Greece can learn more here.
Two Deon Policy Members also wrote an article arguing that visiting professors appointment can be used as a repatriating mechanism for Greek post-doctoral students
Related Articles
Repatriating Greek Postdoctoral Researchers
by Georgios Laskaris & Nikos Tsopoulidis
Early-career Greek scientists often spend years as postdoctoral researchers while looking for full-time professor positions. Instead, we recommend they become Visiting Professors. Beyond that, over time, Greek universities should also consider creating a path to permanance for the visiting professors, to effectively repatriate Greek postdoctoral researchers
“I am grateful to [Deon] Policy Institute for its research relating to the latest education reform. Leveraging their years of experience in the US academic system, [Deon] members were able to inform the general public and policymakers in Greece of international best practices and thereby assist in shaping policies that attract postdoctoral researchers to Greek universities, allowing knowledge transfer from foreign to Greek academic institutions, and enabling the growth of entrepreneurship in the Greek academic environment. I will continue to read the Institute’s reports and findings and support their future endeavors.”
— Angelos Syrigos, Deputy Minister of Education & Religious Affairs 2021 - 2023