Turkish CEOs, scholars ready to return home if needed

Having long struggled to keep its brightest minds in the country, Turkey is now one of the leading countries in reversing this “brain drain” thanks to swift technological advancements in the country over the past few years. Advances in Turkish technology and the research and development (R&D) industry have drawn a number of young scientists who studied in Turkey but left to conduct research abroad -- mostly in the US -- back to Turkey. Studies show that Turkish scholars who trained in their fields abroad and even served as CEOs and managers for some of the world's leading companies have either returned or considered returning home. This indicates that Turkey’s appeal has notably increased and resulted in a speeding up of the reverse brain-drain process. Expats returning to Turkey are generally young and most of them come from the US, the Anatolia news agency reported. The US-based software giant Microsoft has recruited 350 Turkish employees and the world’s largest Internet search engine, Google, employs 35 Turkish workers. US aviation giant Boeing has 75 Turkish engineers. Observers argue that reversing the brain drain is crucial, particularly when trying to win back such people who have gone abroad to capitalize on R&D and other opportunities in their fields. Having understood the potential, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) launched a reverse brain-drain campaign last year by inviting Turks in the US to return to Turkey for more attractive opportunities -- a campaign supported by the European Council. Pundits say more needs to be done.