Asian Scientists on the Move

The growing scientific research output from Asia has been making headlines since the start of the twenty-first century. But behind this science story, there is a migration story. The elite scientists who are pursuing cutting-edge research in Asia are rarely 'homegrown' talent but were typically born in Asia, trained in the West, and then returned to work in Asia. Asian Scientists on the Move explores why more and more Asian scientists are choosing to return to Asia, and what happens after their return, when these scientists set up labs in Asia and start training the next generation of Asian scientists. Drawing on evocative firsthand accounts from 119 Western-trained Asian scientists about their migration decisions and experiences, and in-depth analysis of the scientific field in four country case studies - China, India, Singapore and Taiwan - the book reveals the growing complexity of the Asian scientist migration system.

'The rise of science in Asia is changing science and Asia. In this fascinating study of Asian scientists returning after being educated and working in the West, the dynamics of migrating scientists as agents of change, enabled by governments' investments into the Research Technology and Innovation systems, are untangled. It reveals their efforts at acculturation and the 'gender compromises' that many women scientists have to make, but above all their passion for science and its values.' Helga Nowotny, Professor em.Former President of the European Research Council, 'Anju Mary Paul sheds unique light on the rise of bioscience in Asia by detailing Asian scientists' transnational migration trajectories. Combining precise delineations of these scientists' career patterns with sensitive interpretations about their aspirations and dilemmas, the book significantly advances social research on both science and migration.' Biao Xiang, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford; Director of Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, 'This volume uses the example of bioscientists' mobility into and through Asia to show how science is made in and through mobilities in a multipolar research world and through changing bodies. With its deep insights into changing patterns of mobility underpinned by strong theoretical and epistemological conceptualisations, this book will set the agenda for research in skilled mobility for years to come'. Parvati Raghuram, Professor of Geography and Migration, The Open University, 'Asian Scientists on the Move is a compelling analysis of how scientific mobility and the emergence of an Asian scientist migration system is changing scientific cultures in Asia in general and aspiring scientists' careers in particular. It provides novel insights into how these dynamic processes are lifting select Asian countries from the periphery to the core of global science and in the process lifting the gaze of the region's scientific community with aspirations for Asia as the new locus of knowledge creation.' Devesh Kapur, Starr Foundation Professor of South Asian Studies at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

Anju Mary Paul is an international migration scholar with a research focus on emergent migration patterns to, from and within Asia. Her previous books include the award-winning Multinational Maids: Stepwise Migration in a Global Labor Market (Cambridge University Press 2017) and Local Encounters in a Global City (Ethos Books 2017).