Drivers of International Brain Drain and Lessons for the Retention of Highly Skilled International Labor in Hong Kong

 

  • Start Time：2023/1
  • Expected Completion time：2023/12
  • Research funding：IPO Support Fund for Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration
  • Leading researchers：Professor ZHU Pengyu

 

The latest Policy Address of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong has established the attraction of international talent as a primary policy priority.  Policies proposed thus far include schemes for luring strategically important firms with land and tax incentives, incentives for Hong Kong residents currently working and studying abroad to return, and allowing high earners and graduates of the world’s top universities to arrive in Hong Kong before having secured job offers.  However, these policies largely ignore another source of overseas talent:  international students currently studying for university or post-graduate degrees within Hong Kong.  The 2022 Policy Address largely sidestepped the retention of international students trained in Hong Kong, even though Hong Kong devotes public resources to their education and other developed countries that compete with Hong Kong do not neglect to utilize this source of international talent.  For example, both Australia and Japan rely upon former international students educated onshore to provide high-skilled labor as well as other linguistic and cultural skills with transnational economic importance. 

The research proposed here aims to serve as an exploratory pilot for a broader study that will determine the drivers of the outmigration of international students following the completion of their university or post-graduate studies in Hong Kong. 

Objectives:

An exploratory pilot study is necessary to determine what questions will be necessary and suitable for the long-term panel survey in Hong Kong’s specific socio-economic contexts.  The objectives of the pilot study are:

  1. to conduct in-depth interviews with soon-to-graduate international students to determine their priorities regarding the decision to remain in or leave Hong Kong following graduation, to guide panel survey design, and
  2. to review Hong Kong’s current policies and practices regarding international talent attraction and retention, in order to identify potential gaps.