UK faces brain drain in the next decade

The much expected budgetary cuts to the tune of £3 billion in the research by the next UK Government to help the country recover from a £178 billion debt would have a bad effect on the economic competitiveness of the country. 

It is being strongly felt that such a decision by the next government will allure many young scholars to look for better employment options by moving over to countries like the US, Singapore and other countries across the Atlantic that have been investing in scientific research even during the global economic crisis. 

The warning comes close on the heels of a report by ‘Friends Provident’ that also has warned UK’s businesses of shortage of skilled workers in the next 10 years when educated immigrants will move out of the UK.

The report titled—‘Visions of Britain 2020’ says that many skilled workers will prefer going to more prosperous economies and will result in decline in the immigration of foreign workers into the UK. Hence, number of graduates coming to live and work in the UK will decline considerably. 

The chances of the UK brain drain heading for work in the US are likely to increase more especially after the recent announcement by the US President Obama to increase science funding. 

Moreover, it will also endanger the future of the British science and research by robbing the researchers of the much needed grants to move ahead in their careers, stated president of the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Ralph Cicerone in San Diego. Cicerone was speaking at the annual meeting of the AAAS on Sunday (February 21, 2010).

UK government had announced cuts in research and university budgets worth £600m in December last.

Funding cuts a blow to the UK economy---The US scientists have cautioned the UK against funding cuts since it will be not just a foolish step but will render a severe blow to the UK’s research base as well as its economy. It’s like damaging a generation of science, said president of the AAAS, Peter Agre. 

Agre, a Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry, said there is a need for consistent funding in science by every nation. 

Invest for safeguarding UK's future-The director of the US National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, advised UK politicians to recognize the importance of science to the economy. He said that no matter the economy of the UK is passing through a difficult time, but the best thing is to invest funds in the science to safeguard the economy’s future.