Examining change in migration strategies over the life course of international PhD students

Abstract

This article examines PhD students’ migration plans and strategies, their development over time, and the circumstances of their potential or real return within the changing life course context. The research is based on a longitudinal qualitative study conducted over six years (2012–17) among 21 international PhD students coming from developing countries, studying in the Netherlands. Results are discussed in the context of a cultural shift and the migration–development nexus. We argue that: (1) strong feelings of responsibility towards both their family and the development of their country of origin are leading factors shaping their migration strategies; (2) specialisation of their research project and its applicability in the home country also importantly influences their return potential; and (3) an apparent moral responsibility towards the home society and a willingness to help countries of migratory origin was growing stronger over the observation time (in harmony with post-materialist values the informants gained when studying in the Netherlands) along the progressing life course, which creates a broad potential for brain gain.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>International PhD students from developing countries carry potential for brain gain.</li><br /><li>Specialisation of the PhD research topic influences their return migration strategies.</li><br /><li>Willingness to help home countries was growing stronger over the longitudinal observation of the life course.</li></ul>

The Impact of International Student Mobility on Multicultural Competence and Career Development: The Case of Students from Latin America and the Caribbean in Barcelona

“…The students' narratives also present significant personal changes in relation to their maturity, reflection, and social commitment [3,29,41,68]. In some of these narratives, the experience is portrayed as having contributed to opening students' minds and to creating a stronger social commitment towards their respective countries [38,43]. This finding is in line with Nada et al [42] and the theory of transformative learning.…”

“…Nowadays, research also focuses on the development of students' global competences and the impact that this can generate not only on the country of origin but also on the networks and intercultural contacts that are created within the context of a more global education [36,37]. As an example, the international students in Rakovcová and Drbohlav [38] had integrated new values that they then spread among their own societies once they came back to their home countries. Returning home after immersion in another culture is often characterised as more difficult than the initial transition [39].…”

Sudan's brain gain: what motivates the intention of skilled Sudanese in Japan to return and contribute to their home country

“…Additionally, a longitudinal study suggests that PhD students hailing from developing countries and studying in the Netherlands were influenced by their host country's post-materialist values, which fostered a greater willingness to help their home countries. According to the authors of that study, the host country's values gradually augmented the sense of moral responsibility felt by those highly skilled students, who wanted to make ethically correct decisions (Rakovcová & Drbohlav, 2022). Thus, a sense of belonging to one's homeland and the values of the host country can intersect, augmenting the desire to contribute to the home country.…”

“…The life course approach in migration studies helps illuminate “how migration decisions are embedded in social time and space and how they develop throughout the life of an individual as his/her needs, priorities and obligations change along the life course” (Rakovcová & Drbohlav, 2022). Research that uses the life course approach to study highly skilled migrants examines family influences (Kõu, van Wissen, van Dijk, & Bailey, 2015, Kõu, Mulder, & Bailey, 2017; Bailey & Mulder, 2017) and emigration drives (Kõu & Bailey, 2014).…”

“…Very few studies have mentioned highly skilled migrants' drive to contribute to their home country from a life course approach. Rakovcová and Drbohlav (2022) suggest that the desire to contribute to the homeland increases with the life course's progression. The participants in their study were PhD students coming to the Netherlands from sixteen Global South countries.…”