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The Trump administration is using all its powers to enforce its own principles. In this context, budget cuts are being made in areas such as climate change, space, and health and medicine. More and more researchers are leaving the US because they are fed up with the budget cuts. In March, the British scientific journal Nature conducted a survey of more than 1,600 American researchers. 75% of them were considering leaving the US. This trend is an opportunity for countries and regions that have been trying to attract excellent researchers. European Commission President Von der Attien has already announced that he will support the migration of researchers from the US and other countries to Europe. The European Commission President has announced that he will invest 500 million euros (approximately 82 billion yen) to attract researchers from outside the region, such as the US. The EU’s efforts to attract researchers may focus on science and engineering experts in areas such as artificial intelligence and decarbonization.
There are also many people in the US who want to protect researchers. About 2,000 scholars, including Nobel Prize winners, issued a statement calling for an end to the attacks. They believe that a variety of ideas is essential for the progress of science and academia. They feel a sense of crisis that if pressure on academia and science continues, the foundation of America’s prosperity will collapse. However, these voices have not yet moved the current administration. Scientists and researchers who are critical of the administration seem to be divided into two groups: those who are seeking temporary refuge and those who want to distance themselves from America for the long term. Some people are moving their research bases to other countries until the Republican administration is replaced by the Democratic administration. The other group is people who are considering permanent residence in other countries, believing that the American culture, which has elected two authoritarian presidents, is not conducive to stable research.
Top-class researchers move with their families. They do not seem to accept invitations that separate their families, such as those for single-person transfers. The education of their children, who are part of that family, is important. The existence of an International Baccalaureate-level school is the educational environment for children that talented people can work with peace of mind. Students who graduate from schools approved by the International Baccalaureate can enter famous universities around the world. Highly skilled individuals with strong research capabilities want their children to take on the challenges of academics and research in the same circumstances as they did. For this reason, it is desirable for schools at the International Baccalaureate level to exist. When Japanese universities and companies want to accept American brains, it seems they need to provide not only research facilities and funding, but also an educational environment for families, especially children.
