Albanian Students Abroad: A Potential Brain Drain?

• Autorzy: Russell King , Ilir Gëdeshi
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Since 1991, Albania has become a fertile terrain for the study of migration and its relationship to development. One aspect of the country's intense and diverse experience of emigration which has received less attention is the movement of its students into higher education abroad. To what extent does this student emigration constitute a potential brain drain? We answer this question via a mixed-method research endeavour consisting of an online survey (N=651) of Albanian students enrolled in foreign universities and follow-up in-depth interviews (N=21) with a sample of the survey respondents. The survey and interviews were carried out in 2019-2020. The survey collected data on students' social and academic background, reasons for going abroad to study, life in the host country, attitudes towards returning to Albania and perceived barriers to return. Half of the respondents do not intend to return immediately after graduating. The remainder have a more open or uncertain mindset, including 30 per cent who say they will return only after a period spent working or doing further studies abroad. Those who intend to return, either sooner or later, do so out of a combination of family ties, nostalgia and wanting to 'give something back' to their home country. However, the barriers to return are perceived as formidable: low pay, lack of good jobs, corruption and a general feeling that 'there is no future' in Albania. The scale of loss of young brains is thus potentially considerable and a major policy concern for the future of the country. (original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Population migration; Typology of migration; Students; Brain exchange; Corruption

PL

Migracja ludności; Typologia migracji; Studenci; Drenaż mózgów; Korupcja

• Czasopismo: Central and Eastern European Migration Review
• Rocznik: 2023
• Tom: 12
• Numer: nr 2
• Strony: 73--97

Twórcy

autor

Russell King

• University of Sussex, United Kingdom

autor

Ilir Gëdeshi

• The Center for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Albania

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Identyfikatory

DOI

10.54667/ceemr.2023.20