Only England And Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. Hochschulpolitik im Iran Iran wegen Brain Drain besorgt. Iran’s brain drain crisis along with decades of detachment from the global economy, insufficient investment, entrenched corruption, closure of demographic window of opportunity, and the foreseeable decline in the relative value of the country's fossil resources, collectively, suggest that Iran could possibly lose generations of economic growth. Iranian emigrants don’t leave to make money—you can make money in Iran. However, there might not be a lot of time left for the Biden administration to secure a deal with the Rouhani government, which is considered moderate on the issue of the nuclear deal and has a track-record of engagement with the US. “That's forgetting their entire past and origins.”, Madadi takes a more forgiving approach: “What forces the elites to emigrate is a lack of hope for a better life and future. Mary Jane Maxwell. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. In this article, the underlying forces and the extent of brain drain from Iran to the United States are studied. 11th March 2021. An infographic from Shargh magazine in Iran regarding the brain drain phenomenon. Yet, our neighboring countries offer between $10,000 and $15,000 to faculty members of universities and elites,” said Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpei, another of the regimes MPs. Iran’s brain drain is increasing yearly. After the easing of sanctions against Iran under the auspices of the Obama administration, companies like Sheypoor were able to draw in significant foreign investment. Their emigration not only causes the loss of many skilled and specialized forces but also affects the country’s capital, which is spent on training this skilled force. Of unemployed Iranians, 42 percent have at least one university degree. Under the deal, Iran and Western powers, most notably the US, agreed to lift some sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme. Many of elite students or professors have been forced to into driving taxis and peddling due to lack of employment. A brief period of optimism after the 2015 nuclear deal gave way to a gloomier economic outlook when former US President Donald Trump resumed sanctions, Vahid Rajabloo (left) says Iranians have a duty to stay and serve their country despite economic difficulties (MEE/Reza Khaasteh), Iran's women hockey stars plan to make their mark on ice, Republicans introduce bill opposing lifting Iran sanctions, How China could shape Iran's economic future, Iran start-ups battle brain drain and US sanctions. Since the mullahs’ regime took power in 1979 in Iran, it devastated the country and its people. “Countries with the largest Iranian population (people born in Iran) are the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Sweden, Australia, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Qatar, France, Norway, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Iraq, Switzerland, and Belgium. The Iranian regime has increased its oppressive measures, simultaneous with the start of the New Persian Year. Up until then, sanctions relief under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as it was officially known, had provided Iranian businessmen and entrepreneurs with a glimmer of hope. This is partly due to the mismatch between the skills taught at Iranian universities and those required by the job market. “From March 2019 to March 2020, some 900 professors left Iran. Global statistics also show that the majority of Iranian migrants are educated and experts. As a result, entrepreneurs like Amir-Hossein Madadi find it near impossible to operate their businesses to their full potential. This will definitely affect education in universities and higher education institutions. Between 150,000 and 180,000 elites and specialists leave the country every year, and in terms of brain drain, Iran, under the mullahs’ regime, ranks first in the world. “The same issue happened at other start-ups...The best ones are now working remotely with other countries, instead of helping (Iran’s) start-ups.”. © Middle East Eye 2021 - all rights reserved. Gulf royals claimed millions from UK furlough scheme: Report. In Iran every well educated and qualified person tries to leave Iran. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the annual flow of migrants from Iran has averaged at about 63,000 people. The difficulty was due to consumer uncertainty brought on by the Trump administration's decision. The total number of Iranian migrants abroad (including non-permanent residents) increased from about 830,000 in 1979 to 3.1 million today, according to a Stanford study. “Political tensions grew out of proportion in the eyes of investors.”. There is near unanimity among the Iranian entrepreneurs who spoke to Middle East Eye that their prospects are tied to the future of the Iran nuclear deal. investment, entrenched corruption, closure of demo graphic window of opportunity, a nd t he . The number, although by far the largest among OECD countries, hasn’t seriously affected Britain due to a large influx of foreign skilled migrants. Uneducated regime officials or affiliates in the management of universities sabotage the work of independent professors through inappropriate and unprofessional interference. In 2006, the International Monetary Fund ranked Iran "first in brain drain among 61 developing and less developed countries (LDC)" In the early 1990s, more than 150,000 Iranians emigrated, and an estimated 25% of Iranians with post-secondary education were residing in developed countries of the OECD. Iran is facing a multitude of crises as a result of the mullahs’ rule, with some of them so ingrained in people’s lives that they immediately spark protests and even nationwide uprisings, like poverty.. Others are more hidden, like brain drain, which is the name given to the phenomenon where elite professionals leave their country of origin for one where they will have more opportunity. This figure has doubled from 2011 to 2020, when in recent years, due to economic problems, there is massive brain drain,” wrote the state-run Khabar Fouri website on January 21. “Many of the best programmers departed from Sheypoor,” says Kheydrush. Since the mullahs’ regime took power in 1979 in Iran, it devastated the country and its people. The restoration of sanctions after the US pullout from the Iran nuclear deal has left Tehran with a shortage of the political and economic stability that is a requisite for the success of any start-up. Iran's government estimates that '150,000 highly talented people' leave each year [AP] By Under the rule of the mullahs, Iran has become a record holder in elite students leaving the country. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Iran’s brain drain crisis along with decades of detachment from the global economy, insufficient investment, entrenched corruption, closure of demographic window of opportunity, and the foreseeable decline in the relative value of the country's fossil resources, collectively, suggest that Iran could possibly lose generations of economic growth. In a 2016 paper for the Atlantic Council, the former US under secretary of state for economic growth, Robert Hormats, said: “Years of sanctions have forced Iranians to create their own internet companies and services - and provided an incentive to establish a wide variety of homegrown information technology firms.”. Why? (State Dept./J. Under the rule of the mullahs, Iran has become a record holder in elite students leaving the country. 2 1 Meanwhile, Iranian Minister of Science, Research, and Technology Reza Faraji Dana estimated in 2014 that approximately 150,000 educated Iranians emigrate abroad every year, a trend that amounts to an annual loss of $150 billion for the country. “The months after the re-imposition of US sanctions caused our company to suffer,” says Mohammad-Reza Kheyrdush, the home sales manager of Sheypoor, an online classified marketplace. A professor with 40 years of experience receives 140 million rials [$560 with the free marker dollar exchange rate] each month. Some departments in the country’s universities, such as mechanics and computers, have lost more than 30% of their professors, which is very dangerous. “Exclude professors from such bills. They leave in pursuit of social and intellectual gain, which causes the brain drain. Numerous news reports say that a study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that Iran has lost more of its college graduates to the so-called "brain drain" than any other country in the world. This trend has contributed to Iran’s long-standing brain drain. Thus, despite reaching [top academic] heights after 20 years of experience, their income is less than $1,000. This is one of Iran’s serious problems currently. Irans Akademiker kehren ihrem Land zunehmend den Rücken. Vahid Rajabloo, the founder and CEO of Tavanito, the first Iranian start-up for disabled citizens, says employees grow by working at start-up companies, and once their skills are developed, they leave Iran for another country where their interests are better served. According to the entrepreneurs, the way of addressing this threat is for all sides to return to the deal. Where money is not an issue, finding foreign companies willing to do business with their Iranian counterparts is. Theoretical Framework 3.1 Lee’s Model of Migration The theoretical framework of this study first of all focuses on Lee’s model of migration. Brain drain to other OECD countries Actually, that is not true. presidency term (2005-2009) Mahmud Ahmadinejad denied Iran’s brain drain issue and declared that the theory of brain drain does not apply to Iran. Most Iranians are grappling with poverty in the new year. While the foreign salaries would no doubt help the Iranian economy, Iranian companies are left with an even smaller pool of talent to recruit from. Livelihood, political and social pressures on university professors and other specialists in Iran are in a situation where the doors of Western universities are open to them. Brain drain occurs most commonly when individuals leave less developed countries (LDCs) with fewer opportunities for career advancement, research, and academic employment and migrate to more developed countries (MDCs) with more opportunities. Iran's Brain Drain Is the West's Gain. We are facing the devaluation of the national currency. "brain drain" from Iran is a major concern. Statistics for 2019 show that a total of 1,301,975 Iranians have migrated to these countries, while in 1990 the number of Iranians migrating worldwide was 631,339. “Lack of support for faculty members has led to an increase in brain drain and emigration of professors from all universities. International investors took tentative steps to invest in Iranian companies, but with former US President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018, many Iranians' hopes for a deluge of foreign capital and investment were dashed. Iran’s government has shifted its take on ‘brain drain’ but is the change enough to reverse the flow? With tech giants like Amazon, eBay, and Uber unable to offer services to a lucrative market of over 80 million consumers, Iranian companies have moved to fill their niches - often closely following the business models of their Western counterparts. Those who comment on professors’ performance do not have scientific competence themselves, or if they do, use other criteria as the reason for assessing the professor. #Iran: Torture of Political Prisoners for Forced Television ConfessionsUN urged to visit prisons and meet with Moradi, Younesi, and Afkari brothers, Urgent action needed for the release of political prisoners, detained protesters#HumanRightshttps://t.co/YliT16b6lA, — NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 7, 2020. This acceleration and exponential increase in coveted talent leaving the country has reached the point that Iran under the mullahs’ rule is at the top of the world in terms of brain drain. Copyright © 2020 NCRI The Islamic Republic of Iran has had a substantial drain of highly educated individuals (more than 15 percent) and so has Taiwan Province of China (8–9 percent). Only England And Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. Online start-ups have mushroomed in Iran in the past decade with entrepreneurs offering services as diverse as online shopping, food delivery, e-ticketing for movies and laundry services, among others. However, it also occurs in the movement of individuals from one more developed country to another more developed country. “With brain drain, Iran suffers an annual loss of 150 billion dollars, as an amount of one million dollar has been expended for educating each one of them”, he said. The withdrawal of international investors brought with it an outflow of foreign currency, which in turn led to a drastic devaluation of the Iranian rial, further adding to the headache for Iranian businesses. Amidst the Majlis’s March 7 session about the 2021-22 budget bill, he blamed President Hassan Rouhani’s administration for an inadequate increase in professors’ salaries. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. In September 2018 - two months before the sanctions came into effect - it was acquired by Sheypoor. A 2009 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranked Iran first in brain drain among ninety-one developed or developing countries. He describes the choice of whether to stay or leave as “a matter of conscience”. -. Fearing Iran’s restive society, the regime’s police force... Saturday marked the beginning of the year 1400 on the Persian Calendar. Iran has been suffering from a so-called "brain-drain" for decades before the Trump administration came to power. In addition, the regime systematically oppresses the intellectuals. “It’s not enough to just [issue] sweet invitations and to make nice speeches,” says Pirouz. “The high level of tension between Iran and the West has increased the likelihood of internet restrictions,” says Iranian business developer Reza Ghiabi. In its case, the Sweden-based Pomegranate Investment took a 43-percent stake in the company, but the foreign investors were forced to withdraw from Iran after the resumption of US sanctions. The Iranian media are bemoaning Iran's fate as they report that the country suffers the worst brain drain in the entire world. They leave in search of greater social and religious freedoms and for better employment opportunities. However, the latest rates on the unofficial market indicate that over the past six years, Iran’s currency has experienced a 700-percent loss in value against the greenback, at almost a quarter of a millian rials to the dollar. Deutschland setzt aber weiter auf fruchtbare Wissenschaftskooperation mit dem Iran. Their numbers include both opponents of the Islamic Republic and economic migrants seeking better opportunities abroad. It is a vital matter in the US-Iranian relations due to the fact that educated elite are the medium for transferring technology and know how. Golnar Motevalli. All Rights Reserved. Such projects have the effect of increasing government control over what happens online. His former employer, the online real estate platform Aloonak, failed to secure a strong enough customer base after the reimposition of the sanctions. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. How could be possible to compare the two?” Monadi said. The best engineering and science grads leave with no plans to return By . Feb 4, 2020. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the annual flow of migrants from Iran … Instead of... Iran’s Massive Brain Drain and Mullahs’ Role in It, Latest News & Activities of Iran Protest Leader Maryam Rajavi, European Appeasement Must End Before Iran Causes Disaster at Home or Abroad, Iran: Coronavirus Fatalities in 518 Cities Exceed 229,600, Iran’s Regime Uses Vaccination To Murder and Plunder People, Iran’s Regime Took Oppressive Measures in Persian New Year, Iran People’s Hard Life and Rouhani’s Contradictory Remarks. Permanent immigration of Iranian scientific elites, also referred to as ‘brain drain’, has always been in the news over the past years. While access to foreign markets has largely been closed off, Iranian businesses increasingly look at internal markets for solutions, thereby encouraging the growth of monopolies and reducing competition. As a result, Iranian businesses find themselves in a no-win situation where they both struggle to find competent employees and risk losing the ones they already have. Brain drain since 2005 is likely a result of hard currency outflows from Iran following Ahmadinejad's rise to power. Iran’s 41-year ‘brain drain’. “As long as Iran is fighting the world, there will be no economic stability, and that’s very important to entrepreneurs.”. While the Iran nuclear deal gave hope to many Iranians that their country was opening up to the world, its subsequent setback after the US withdrawal has left many wondering if they would be better off joining the Iranian diaspora abroad. A Comprehensive Report About 1988 Massacre in Iran’s Prisons, Maryam Rajavi’s Ten Point Plan for Future Iran. In short, economic opportunity alone can't reverse Iran’s brain drain. This crisis has reached a point where the regime’s state-run media and officials are forced to acknowledge some aspects of it. “It might be possible in other industries to somehow bypass the sanctions, but it is not at all possible in this field,” he says. Therefore, the main reason for the professors’ departure from the country is [the regime’s] interference. The regime has put the elite students and experts under such pressure and poverty that they have no option but to leave the country. This sense of impasse among businesspeople is in stark contrast to the mood when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was first elected. There are many things wrong in Iran, many of which are caused by the long-term rule of the Mullahs regime. “As a result of sanctions, Iranian startups have been deprived of hosting, marketing and cloud services, and have been banned from certain software apps including Slack and Coursera,” said Azali, adding that the difficulties also extend to buying hardware. One in 4 of Iran’s most educated citizens leave their country when given the opportunity. According to Kheyrdush, it took a few months for Sheypoor to recover and “rise from the ashes” but others have not been so lucky. A more conservative candidate is expected to win the presidential election slated for 18 June. With the global rise of remote-working after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, many Iranians can work for foreign multinationals without ever leaving. From crude oil to canvas: Turning Iran's black gold into art, 'A life without war': Iran's booming art scene comes to London. Besides plundering the national wealth, oppressing people, and pushing them in the swamp of poverty, the mullahs’ wrong policies have caused massive brain drain. His start-up, Shenoto, is a podcast and audiobook platform with more than 100,000 users on the Android operating system but he finds it difficult to do business with those outside Iran. This fear of migration is akin to the concept of a moral panic: when a society is worried about a phenomenon in disproportion to its actual repercussions, in fact larger anxieties and values are expressing themselves.In Iran, the constant concern of the movement of youth out of the country speaks strongly … This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Iran’s brain drain crisis along with decades of detachment from the global economy, insufficient . For Rajabloo, those looking to leave need to ground themselves in a greater sense of patriotism towards their country. What is the reason behind Iran’s alarming brain drain?#Iran #WeStand4FreeIran #Iranian https://t.co/SUiu4HslGS, — NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 14, 2020, Hadi Beiginejad, another MP of the regime, referred to a report which the Minister of Education had shown to Mohammad Bagher-Nobakht, head of Iran’s Budget and Planning Organization recently, which stated, “Several hundred university professors have left the country in the past few months.”. Saudi Arabia’s ‘Programme HQ’: Can Riyadh rival Dubai as a business hub? The National Council of Resistance of Iran and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), reports that since the mullahs gained power in Iran the country has seen an unprecedented brain drain, as some of the most talented students have fled the country.. Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA had left the Iranian start-up ecosystem in tatters. During the parliament’s open session on March 7, on the government’s budget for the Persian New Year of 1400, Reza Monadi, MP from East Azarbaijan and the chair of Education and Research Commission, acknowledged the brain drain crisis in Iran. According to Mohammad-Reza Azali, the co-founder and CEO of TechRasa, a leading Iranian tech news platform, this devaluation has led to unprecedented inflation, tripling the price of hardware and software services needed for start-ups. However, a member of the [university] managing board receives 500 million rials [$2,000] a month. That’s not what high-tech companies (here) can give these people.”. While US and Western sanctions against Iran have deprived the start-up scene of international investment, they have also created opportunities for locals to capitalise on the absence of bigger US-based multinationals. In response to the sanctions, Iranian officials are also developing internal networks and alternative  platforms to ones available internationally that will make the country even more detached from the global internet. Another form of oppressing professors in Iran is the regime’s interference in their teaching. Iran’s ranking in the OECD’s table might appear comparatively rosy when it comes to brain drain. The brain drain is a "very sensitive question," Salehi acknowledges. The issue of unemployment in Iran is widespread across various skill levels. The Iranian entrepreneurs Middle East Eye spoke to also complained that while there were possible workarounds to acquire equipment and software, sellers abroad were reluctant to engage for fear of potential complications. From March 2019 to March 2020, around 900 professors left Iran. “I would like to draw the attention of my colleagues to the massive brain drain and emigration of youth from the country. National Council of Resistance of Iran "We work from morning till night and still we cannot live off the money we make but over there we can have a better life with less hours of work," said Shabanzade, a hairdresser in Tehran who wants to emigrate. He further says that an internet shutdown, like the one in November 2019 which came in response to the nationwide fuel protests, is a “grave operational and financial threat to Iranian start-ups”. As of the beginning of March, there are around 10,000 start-ups operating in Iran, according to the country’s Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari. “Start-up companies train and help elites to grow, but then that helps them leave the country more easily,” he says, adding: “If they decide to grow on their own, they would have a longer path to go. But when they are trained in major start-up companies, that helps them and even opens up their way to immigrate.”. Some Believe Economic Reasons Intensified Brain Drain in Iran. Amir Hossain Moradi and Ali Younesi, two elite students at Sharif University, have been in detention for over a year. So bad as shit. More questions on Iran: It is no secret that Iran has a "brain drain" problem; it has been recognized by top Iranian authorities including Iran's Minister of Science and Technology Reza Faraji Dana, who noted, "Every year, about 150,000 of our elite emigrate from Iran, costing our economy $150 billion." “The monopoly has stripped Iranian start-up companies of their right to choose,” Rajabloo says. A year ago, the International Monetary Fund said Iran had the highest rate of brain drain of 90 countries it measured. Iran has been suffering from a so-called "brain-drain" for decades before the Trump administration came to power. The sentiment is shared by Sheypoor’s Kheyrdush who believes the lifting of sanctions will “attract foreign investment, increase competition, and finally benefit the end-user”. In 2015, when the JCPOA was signed, the rial traded at about 35,000 against the US dollar. As a free trade zone, Dubai has become the perfect place for Iranians to pursue business ventures that are otherwise too difficult in Iran … They have been subjected to psychological and physical torture. “The stakes rose unreasonably even for the most daring investors, who were willing to take risks for long-term yields in Iran,” says Reza Ghiabi, an Iranian business developer. In the last 10 years, more than 1.1 million people with university degrees have left the United Kingdom. “It's totally against humanity that a person chooses to work abroad just because their interests are better served in other countries,” he says. This article brings to the fore the issue of the brain drain from Iran that has not been examined recently.