Bridging the gap: Brain drain to brain circulation: Researching successful strategies to support effective change

The human capital of a region or an entire country is an essential contribution to the formation of a European scientific community of well-educated and professional people and crucial for the preservation of competitiveness and work ability, as well as for responsible resources management of the world and its - primary and secondary - raw materials. Funded by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), the project 'OpESEE MSc ENTER' and its Master degree programme, was developed through the cooperation of 6 partners, where the Technische Universitat Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF) has the lead. The project aims at supporting entrepreneurs and releasing highly qualified mechanical engineers whose goal is to create a start-up in the raw materials sector within the East-Southeast Europe (ESEE) region. The authors' main part in the project was to investigate brain drain and its' effects on talent retention and attraction in order to better understand the primary motives for study and subsequent labour market choices, with a focus on start-up creation. In addition, a significant contribution can thus be made to cross-regional exchange to counteract the brain-drain phenomenon and to legal migration. A secondary literature desk review was conducted covering previous studies and articles on the topic and from various sources, which in turn provided the foundation for setting up a primary pilot study and analysis with the ESEE target audience to test premises that were found in the secondary research. Finally, this study was upscaled and executed with all 6 project partner institutions, current students, Alumni, and Professionals to form the basis of recommendations on successful strategies to be incorporated into the project in the form of an action plan named 'Back to ESEE'; bridging the gap; from brain drain to brain circulation. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.