Could Europe bring in top research talent from the US amid Trump's funding cuts?

Published on 18/06/2025 - 16:27 GMT+2

US authorities spending connected wellness investigation has reached a 10-year low, forcing universities to tie from their savings and hurting companies that waste laboratory supplies.

Researchers who pursued world health, race, gender identity, ambiance alteration and topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion besides saw their grants terminated.

This has led to three-quarters of US-based respondents successful a Nature canvass considering leaving nan country, creating an opportunity for nan EU to pull researchers from nan US.

"We judge that diverseness is an plus of humanity and nan lifeblood of science. It is 1 of nan astir valuable world goods, and it must beryllium protected," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said successful May successful a reside delivered astatine La Sorbonne University successful Paris.

In 2024, nan US accounted for 36% of each highly cited researchers, compared to 21% successful China and 19% successful nan EU (including Switzerland and Norway), according to a Bruegel analysis.

While nan EU retains a important information of its ain talent, it besides contributes substantially to nan world excavation of mobile apical researchers, peculiarly to nan US.

Among US-based highly cited researchers astatine Harvard, Princeton, nan University of Pennsylvania and Columbia, 7.7% earned their PhD successful nan EU.

A ample information of nan US-based apical investigation workforce besides has an world education, pinch 24% of US-based highly cited researchers being wholly knowledgeable abroad.

What factors could thrust nan prime to time off a country?

Family ties, individual life plans and profession prospects are among nan factors that tin seduce researchers to move countries.

However, location is still a ample net spread betwixt US and EU academics.

A apical interrogator astatine nan University of California tin gain betwixt $500,000 (€432,300) and complete $1 cardinal (€865,240) annually. In contrast, moreover nan highest-paid professors astatine apical European institutions specified arsenic Spain's Complutense University of Madrid typically earn nary much than €77,122.

Initiatives specified arsenic Choose Europe, which includes a €500 cardinal package aimed astatine attracting researchers to Europe, alongside efforts to trim barriers for world students and researchers, could lead to basal changes successful nan agelong run.

For instance, Provence-Aix Marseille University reported being "inundated" pinch applications from US-based researchers aft announcing nan motorboat of nan three-year Safe Place For Science program, wherever they expect to raise €15 cardinal and big astir 15 researchers.

Yet, betwixt 2022 and 2024, nan astir charismatic destinations among US graduates who wanted to move overseas were nan United Kingdom and Canada.

"Life-changing plans return time, and it is excessively early to expect a monolithic outflow from nan US," nan Bruegel study stated.