Transnational mobility of academic scientists and engineers: Do global boundaries matter for international collaboration?

• In Event: How Does Mobility Change Researchers, Research Groups And Scientific Communities? (III)

Abstract

With the advent of globalization and the rapid development of transportation and communication systems, scholars have focused their attention on transnational migration, which is a process by which immigrants forge and sustain simultaneous multi-stranded social relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement (Schiller, et al. 1995). The theory posits that the spaces migrants occupy are so widespread that collaboration, exchange of ideas and norms happen without having to cross physical borders (Levitt & Jaworsky 2007) i.e. an individual lives in more than one country simultaneously. Within the transnational framework, return migration does not signify an end in itself; instead, a transnational perspective makes the concept fluid and continuous. Returnees are of great importance as their decision to return strengthens loyalty and a sense of nationalism in a global world. Making sense of the experiences of Indian return migrants serves as a powerful lens for understanding how these individuals redefine their relationships, particularly within the institutional, societal, and transnational context. In an increasingly connected world, return has individual ramifications as much as it has global considerations. The decision to return is mostly value driven rather than economic. This study will utilize in-depth interviews of academic scientists who after receiving their PhD in the US and working at least 5 years in the host country decided to return to India. Specifically, this study will add to the body of knowledge in the area of transnational migration of the highly skilled and the concept of fluid borders.

Authors

• Meghna Sabharwal, University of Texas at Dallas

• Roli Varma