|
HomePage |
|
|
|
|
[Graduate Student Council (GSC) President Sanith Wijesinghe offers suggestions for maintaining U.S. preeminence in science and technology.]
In keeping with the spirit of this edition of the Faculty Newsletter, I'd like to direct your attention to two points cited in the "Science and Engineering Indicators 2002" report released by the National Science Board that could have possible long-term implications for graduate recruitment and enrollment and subsequently MIT's research agenda:
1) The United States may face increased international competition for highly educated personnel. Furthermore, its relative attractiveness may erode as living standards rise in developing countries and as other industrialized nations intensify their international recruitment efforts.
2) U.S. preeminence in science and technology may erode as competing centers of excellence are established elsewhere. Foreign graduates may find returning home more attractive than staying in the United States after their training, and industry may locate increasingly sophisticated functions overseas.
Let alone developing remedial actions to address issues of competitiveness, there currently exists no Institute-wide infrastructure to track graduate enrollment statistics. Common sense business practice dictates MIT must position itself to assess long-term trends of its most valuable resource -its students. While implications of global economic standings could seem rather far-fetched in planning for enrollment, MIT's graduate research student population is currently close to 40 percent international. Both of the above points therefore have significant coupling effects on MIT's ability to sustain its research agenda. As a minimum, a systematic review of graduate recruitment and retention strategies must be developed and is indeed long overdue.
Moreover, the current climate of heightened security concerns further reinforces the above points for U.S. research institutions. Blanket policies that adversely affect visa application procedures through accessibility of research funds for international graduate students has been a topic of considerable discussion amongst students and faculty alike. The recently released report "In the Public Interest" authored by MIT's ad hoc faculty committee on access to and disclosure of scientific information, has received wide acclaim and is a positive step towards clearly articulating the adverse affect of such policies. MIT must continue its leadership in this regard by engaging universities across the nation to further develop the case for academic openness and collaboration. The future of the nation's preeminence in science and technology relies on it.
In closing, I'd like to bring to your attention our graduate community discussion forum at http://gsn.mit.edu and encourage your feedback and comments on these issues here.
|
HomePage |
|
|
|
|