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Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

reuters.com

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Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#31

Post by threecheese »

I follow a few Australian folks on social media, and it was really surprising to see how much of an Asian/Chinese influence there is. Asian flavors, signage, brands, even slang. It’s a departure from American cultural hegemony that I (as an American) just did not expect.

After wrongly thinking for my entire life that Aussies were basically American cowboys plus crocodiles, I now see news like this as just part of a feedback loop of accelerating loss of global influence - or more accurate, transfer of influence. Coca Cola —> Lychee.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#32

Post by tptacek »

threecheese wrote: post #31

I follow a few Australian folks on social media, and it was really surprising to see how much of an Asian/Chinese influence there is. Asian flavors, signage, brands, even slang. It’s a departure from American cultural hegemony that I (as an American) just did not expect. After wrongly thinking for my entire life that Aussies were basically American cowboys plus crocodiles, I now see news like this as just part of a f…

This is a story about Austria.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#33

Post by guywithahat »

I wish it said more about what these researchers did, other than they were the result of cuts to things like trans policies and opposition to Palestine protests. It would be interesting to see if these are semiconductor researchers or gender studies.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#34

Post by tptacek »

Even if they were full professors, 25 seems like a literal drop in the bucket. There are 187 R1 universities in the US. Competition for professorships is so intense that a lot of people look at grad school as a sucker's bet. I'm happy for these people and for Austria, but I don't see a real news story here.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#35

Post by the_snooze »

gmueckl wrote: post #28

The article doesn't go into details whether these academics are full professors or e.g. postdocs. Twenty-five tenured professors would be a big deal because they tend to either bring their workgroups along or rebuild them at the new university. That's where the true impact of such news lies if these are indeed teachers: these groups produce a steady stream of future experts in the form of graduates and PhDs in their…

Another factor is if they're all from the same (sub)discipline. It doesn't take a lot of established researchers moving to shift a field's center of gravity somewhere else. When you start seeing research conferences that used to be in the US be held elsewhere instead, you'll know that the change has happened.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#36

Post by summarity »

threecheese wrote: post #31

I follow a few Australian folks on social media, and it was really surprising to see how much of an Asian/Chinese influence there is. Asian flavors, signage, brands, even slang. It’s a departure from American cultural hegemony that I (as an American) just did not expect. After wrongly thinking for my entire life that Aussies were basically American cowboys plus crocodiles, I now see news like this as just part of a f…

Mozart not Kangaroos

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#37

Post by b_e_n_t_o_n »

tptacek wrote: post #32
threecheese wrote: post #31

I follow a few Australian folks on social media, and it was really surprising to see how much of an Asian/Chinese influence there is. Asian flavors, signage, brands, even slang. It’s a departure from American cultural hegemony that I (as an American) just did not expect. After wrongly thinking for my entire life that Aussies were basically American cowboys plus crocodiles, I now see news like this as just part of a f…

This is a story about Austria.

Not gonna lie I also read it as Australia....

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#38

Post by amanaplanacanal »

constantcrying wrote: post #20
add-sub-mul-div wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nation doing a 180 from its longstanding strategy of gaining talent to pushing away talent is newsworthy. But it's easy to overlook without reporting on tangible examples.

Academics move around countries all the time for many reasons. It is ridiculous to assume that 25 people moving to different work places is any indication of a "shift in strategy".

It's an example of the result of the shift in strategy. The shift in strategy has been widely reported elsewhere, and we are already well aware of it.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#39

Post by FergusArgyll »

https://www.univie.ac.at/aktuelles/detail/sechs-us-forscheri...

Has some names. Only had patience to check the first one. Visiting Assistant Professor of Global Premodern Art History at the Ohio State University. Happy for him, wish Austria the best of luck...

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#40

Post by alecco »

locallost wrote: post #19

I was hoping the EU can capitalize on this, but remain skeptical as the EU politicians have noticed what kind of rhetoric is successful and are starting to bang the same drum louder and louder. Being anti immigration one of the main ideas. We'll see. My bet is China will be the big winner.

Recently the EU allocated billions to fund tech startups. But if you read the bare minimum demands, you'll see how suspicious it is. Like, you have to have a female co-founder, when everybody in the trade knows it's very hard to find a trustworthy co-founder of any kind.

I haven't heard of anybody getting these funds. I suspect the recipients were pre-selected before the announcement and the criteria was tailored to match them. And I also suspect, in some roundabout way, part of the money will end up in political campaigns or something.

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