international
Academic lobs lure German scientists home Funded largely by West German government, recruiting effort is outgrowth of university expansion program As West German students settle into their academic studies, chances are that many of them are attending courses given by German-born professionals who have given up jobs they once held abroad and returned home. Their decision to return, in many cases, is the outgrowth of a promotional effort funded largely by the West German government to give highly qualified Germans the opportunity to come home to work. In view of the relatively soft economic conditions in Europe today, this West German recruiting effort seems a little surprising—although the Swiss government does have a similar program. In most European countries, jobs are scarce, a situation aggravated by the increasing number of graduates entering the job market each year. The U.K., for instance, has quietly dropped its annual recruiting campaign in the U.S. This campaign had been run for several years to promote the idea among British-born chemists, engineers, and the like working or studying in the U.S. to take jobs in Britain (C&EN, Nov. 25, 1968, page 27). The new West German recruiting effort, however, has its roots in the sweeping university expansion program now under way throughout the country. The program involves the building of new universities and teaching colleges, and the conversion of many polytechnic institutes to quasi-university rank. The moves are being made to cope with the expected increase in demand for university degrees now being forecast. For example, in 1975, there will be an estimated 680,000 students seeking places in West German institutions of higher education, some 200,000 more than last year. To cope with this demand, the West German government has set up an emergency university building program cofunded by the state governments. This year, outlays to expand existing campuses and to build new ones will approach $1 billion. In the coming three years through 1975, the amount earmarked totals some $3.5 billion. The promotional effort aimed at West
German professionals abroad is centered at the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst—DAAD) in Bonn-Bad Godesberg. Coordinating the program at DAAD is Dr. Arnold Ebel, a Germanborn professional who came home after obtaining a bachelor's degree from Washington State University in Pullman and a master's degree from Stanford. Though heavily funded by the West German federal government, DAAD is not a government organization. It is a registered society representing the interests of West German universities. Set up in 1925, its main task is to promote academic exchanges between West Germany and other countries through scholarships and teacher exchange programs. DAAD has branch offices in New York, London, Paris, Cairo, and New Delhi. Dr. Ebel takes the soft-sell approach to the promotional effort, started three years ago through advertisements placed in DAAD's monthly magazine. These advertisements are limited to job vacancies in universities and related institutions. They do not include industrial job vacancies. Currently, about 3000 copies of the magazine go to German-born professionals living outside West Germany, half of them in the U.S., Dr. Ebel notes. The publication also carries articles about developments in West German universities, government moves to expand education programs, and news of research projects and developments arising from them. "It serves to keep the recipients up to date on developments at home," Dr. Ebel explains. Unfortunately, there are no firm statistics concerning the number of West German returnees. Those who respond to the ads do so directly with the institutions that have placed them. But the increasing number of jobs being advertised provides some indication of the rising demand. Compared with "a trickle" in 1969, in 1970 there were 889 ads placed for 2270 job openings. Last year, the figures rose to 1575 ads for 4063 openings. Of the 4063 openings, 2137 were for vacancies on university faculties. The balance were for posts in polytechnic colleges and other educational facilities, and in research institutions. Of the 4063 vacancies advertised last year, there was need for 364 mathematicians, astronomers, and computer experts; 271 physicists; 192 chemists; 152 biologists; and 96 geoscientists. In addition, there were 992 graduates in the humanities, 621 economic and social
Ebel: a soft-sell approach
scientists, 591 engineers, 331 in the medical and veterinary fields, and 151 lawyers. The balance Dr. Ebel classes as 302 positions in "other disciplines." The U.S. is still the Mecca of many technically trained people from around the world. Last year, for instance, the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued visas to 48, 850 professional, technical, and "kindred" workers, 9578 of whom came from western Europe and the U.K. The total was up slightly from the 46,151 admitted in 1970, although the numbers from western Europe and the U.K. in that year were higher at 12,406. Dr. Ebel cites a number of reasons why he believes West Germans working in the U.S. might be interested in returning home. Apart from the freezing of research budgets in the U.S. and the scarcity of jobs as the result of the general economic slowdown during the past few years, he notes that living and working conditions in West Germany have changed markedly in the interval since many professionals left. This is particularly so in academic and research institutions where equipment and money for research projects have become more plentiful, and where the hierarchical system of status classification is now giving way to allow more of the younger professionals the chance of attaining attractive positions on university staffs. "Through the advertisement scheme, nonresident Germans now have the opportunity to compete for jobs on an equal footing with those here at home," Dr. Ebel points out. "If the foreignbased applicant meets the requirements for a post, the government funds the travel expenses involved in bringing him back to Germany for an interview." Nov. 13, 1972 C&EN
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