PULSE - Europe beyond the beat

New migrations

Italian and European Stem graduates now go to China, Brazil and India

China offers competitive contract packages, Brazil attracts in the Stem field, India boosts scientific cooperation with Italy

by Silvia Martelli and Chiara Ricciolini (Il Sole 24 Ore), Alfredo Herrera Sánchez (El Confidencial, Spain)

16 June 2025

STUDENTI UNIVERSITARI UNIVERSITA' LAUREANDI LAUREATI

3' min read

In recent years, a limited but significant number of Italian science graduates have embarked on study and work paths outside the usual European migration routes. Among the emerging destinations, China is one of the countries able to attract highly specialised figures.

Chinese universities are actively 'wooing' Western scientists with highly competitive contract packages. In particular, the Chinese government's 'Thousand Talents Plan' offers high salaries, dedicated research funds, real estate bonuses and family support, in a context where Chinese universities are climbing the international rankings. The phenomenon mainly concerns scientists and researchers in the natural sciences, such as physics, biology and chemistry. Even some Italians, such as physicist Giorgio Parisi, Nobel Prize winner in 2021, have recently accepted prestigious positions in Chinese institutions.

According to the Seventh National Population Census published in 2020, the country is home to 1,430,695 immigrants, of whom 845,697 are foreign nationals and 584,998 are from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The census does not provide data by nationality, and no official estimates of Italian presence are available.

A study by the Centro studi emigrazione Roma, published in 2013 in Studi Emigrazione (no. 190), however, documented the experience of a group of young Italians working in China in fields such as engineering, artificial intelligence and applied technologies. The essay describes a mobility defined as 'China-Italy-China', in which training and professional paths are mainly developed in Shanghai and Beijing. This is not mass emigration, but highly qualified individual experiences, often linked to international projects.

The phenomenon does not only concern Italy. In Spain, for example, there are more than 400 researchers registered with the Red de Investigadores España-China (Rice), a sign of a growing mobility also among young Iberian scientists towards the Chinese academic system, attracted by working conditions that are difficult to replicate in Europe. 'The salary is only part of the reason,' explains David Pérez, Spanish physicist and president of the Red de Investigadores España-China (Rice), 'In Huzhou they guaranteed me resources for my research and even a job for my wife. It is an offer impossible to find in Europe'. Pérez collaborates with Zhejiang University and actively participates in the creation of technology start-ups supported directly by public funds. A dynamic that also concerns young Italians specialised in the most advanced scientific sectors, although still in small numbers compared to other European nationalities.

The Chinese picture is part of a broader transformation, which also involves other countries in the global South. Brazil is also mentioned as a possible destination for Italian scientific profiles. The Report 'Inclusion & Diversity', published in 2024 by the CNR - Irpps in collaboration with the Ministry of Universities and Research, indicates a growing mobility of women towards the South American country in the field of Stem disciplines. On the occasion of the Italian Research in the World Day 2021, the first data from the census of researchers in Brazil, carried out by the Italian Embassy with the Association of Italian Researchers in Brazil, were presented in Brasilia. There were already 577 researchers born in Italy (75% men and 25% women). The states where they are most present are São Paulo (39%), Rio de Janeiro (16%), Minas Gerais (6%), Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul (5%). Most of them work in the exact and earth sciences (27%) and the human and social sciences (23%).

In recent years, India has strengthened its scientific cooperation with Italy, boosting exchange programmes and joint research in highly specialised sectors. In 2025, a bilateral agreement between the two countries provided for shared projects in areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum technologies. This also included the mobility of Italian researchers to Indian academic institutions. A well-established example is the Icgeb centre in New Delhi, founded with the contribution of the Italian geneticist Arturo Falaschi and still active in the training of young scientists from various countries, including Italy.

The picture that emerges confirms a broader trend, that of a gradual shift of the research and innovation axis towards the emerging countries of the global South. This is a dynamic that sees Europe struggling to retain talent and is driving researchers and highly qualified professionals to look beyond the Atlantic or the Mediterranean.

*This article is part of the European collaborative journalism project "Pulse".