Immigrant Graduate Students and Postdocs Enhance U.S. Research and Innovation
The U.S. research enterprise is dependent upon the best and brightest STEM talent contributing to scientific innovation, the American economy and national security. Our country’s leadership in science and technology requires both domestic STEM talent development, and attracting and retaining foreign-born scientists within our nation’s leading universities.
Foreign-born immigrant scientists are a critical part of developing and advancing U.S. research and innovation in science and technology. They contribute valuable knowledge to specific research fields, and novel scientific ideas to broadly advancing the scientific ecosystem.
And while our nation’s competitiveness in science and technology is highly dependent on foreign-born talent in general, more than half of doctorate holders who are performing research in U.S. research laboratories in a multiple disciplines are foreign-born.
This population also contributes significantly to the U.S. STEM workforce. As noted in the inaugural ‘State of the Science’ address by Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, foreign-born graduate students outnumber the domestic pool, and make up 43% of U.S. STEM workers. Similarly, foreign-born postdocs constitute roughly a 50/50 split, signifying the importance of early career research talent to our nation’s scientific enterprise, job market and innovation ecosystem.
Reforms Needed to Support Early Career Research Talent
Unfortunately, many immigrant scientists including trainees in STEM fields within U.S. laboratories encounter a number of systemic barriers which are driving away valuable talent from our research enterprise. We should be doing better in supporting immigrant trainees, including graduate students and postdoctoral researchers within our research universities.
One way that we can continue growing this important segment of the U.S. STEM pipeline and workforce is through much needed immigration reform and policy changes to advance the research enterprise in multiple sectors. This requires visa reform among other areas, which can help support researchers throughout their scientific career and enable them to continue driving U.S. science forward.
Role of Universities in STEM Talent Development
Building a robust and diverse scientific enterprise further necessitates strongly valuing contributions of immigrant trainees to U.S. laboratories, enabling them to thrive within positive research environments. This includes highlighting contributions of the STEM doctoral workforce in the development of patents and inventions stemming from university research, thereby driving our nation forward in science and technology.
In addition to producing a valuable workforce contributing to U.S. economic development, universities are key players in the research enterprise given their role in education and STEM talent development.
Besides developing positive research environments that attract and retain the best STEM talent, universities and other research ecosystem partners can support immigrant researchers through financial aid and loans, industry opportunities, and tech transfer programs.
These options can provide opportunities to our nation’s best and brightest young minds to innovate here and now, and propel our country towards global competitiveness in science and technology through contributions of immigrant scientists to the U.S. research enterprise and STEM workforce.
Author bio: Adriana Bankston is a policy consultant and the incoming first-ever 2024–2025 AAAS STPF/ASGCT Congressional Policy Fellow. She is a strong advocate for the research enterprise and supporting the next generation STEM workforce.
