
Finland’s brain drain: why the talent may return
In this week’s guest post, stem cell biologist, PhD student and Sparrho Hero, Karolina Punovuori explains why she is drawn back to Finland. A recent article in The Conversation suggests that 80% of Finns living abroad — including PhD graduates — do not want to return home. Karolina, on the other hand, is thinking the opposite. Here are her reasons why:
Finland is a curious country. Tucked away in a northern corner of Europe with a population of 5.5 million, it boasts a devilishly tricky language, an unorthodox education system that consistently tops world rankings, a welfare state that hands out all-inclusive “baby boxes” to expectant parents, and a bizarre creation myth involving a duck nesting on a goddess’s knee. Counterintuitively, a recent study also found that Finland is suffering a major case of brain drain.
I was born in Finland but spent most of my life abroad. I’m now completing a PhD in Scotland and I’m strongly contemplating bucking the trend and returning to my birthplace. Here’s why:
The figures

According to the research, the Finnish education system generates highly skilled, well-trained professionals who fare well in the global workforce. They are attracted to European and international destinations, leading to a reported net loss of 2,000 Finnish citizens in 2015. Most of those who leave are highly educated, but in a country where 66% of the population has a university degree (the highest in Europe), this should not come as a surprise.
When these expats are questioned about their likelihood of returning to Finland, only 19% consider it a strong possibility, with this number falling sharply in recent years. The reasons for this are manifold. The highly educated can see working abroad as a better career move at a time when jobs aren’t easy to find at home.
The Finnish welfare state had to find ways of paying for its ageing population of baby-boomers and one idea was to cut higher education funding to the tune of 500 million euro, leaving Finnish universities worried that they would no longer be able to compete with their European counterparts.
The flipside
Juho Korhonen, the author of the research into attitudes about emigration argues that Finns leave in pursuit of better job prospects. But according to an Institute for Migration report from 2011, nearly half of respondents had found work that matched their education already while studying in Finland or immediately upon graduation.
“The same report found that 50% of emigrants with PhDs intended to return, suggesting a pattern of “brain-circulation” rather than brain-drain.”
The findings imply that the reason for migration is not unemployment at home, but rather a broadening of horizons overseas.

There seems to be a gender difference too: 44% of emigrant women questioned were contemplating a return, compared to only 29% of men. These statistics might reflect on the fact that Finland continues to be a great place to raise a family; in addition to the baby boxes, the government also provides some of the longest parental leaves worldwide, great childcare benefits, and is open to disruptive social experiments, like the introduction of a universal basic income.

Where is home?
For me, the situation has another dimension, one that was also addressed in the Institute for Migration report: one of the strongest predictors of an emigrant returning to Finland was whether he or she identified the country as “home”.
I left Finland at the age of ten due to my parents’ jobs, and lived in Singapore, Poland, and Scotland. I hold two passports (the other is Polish) and I loosely identify as a third-culture kid, or someone who spent a significant time of their formative years away from their parents’ culture. I may well represent a second-generation wave of emigrant Finns: those who have already explored the world and are drawn to the stability and high quality of life that their home country has to offer.
The bigger picture
It’s also hard to turn a blind eye to recent political events: I was in the second year of my PhD when the Brexit vote took place. While Scotland — where I currently live — voted firmly to remain, the months after the referendum brought headlines of hate-crimes and abuse directed at Continental Europeans and others in English cities.
“On top of that, British science is forecast to suffer from a withdrawal of EU funding and investment in the wake of the vote. Overnight, staying here after the PhD had become a less appealing prospect.”
Many of my liberal European colleagues viewed Scotland as a good place to ride out the tide of far-right nationalism sweeping across Europe, a sentiment that I can relate to for my other passport-country, Poland. But while Finland certainly isn’t immune to this phenomenon, its progressive mind-set and grounding in societal equality keep it as an attractive destination.
At the end of the day, many of my reasons for wanting to return are practical. After a decade of moving around rented student accommodation, settling down somewhere for a few years is an inviting prospect and Finland has a lot to offer. Better housing, great social benefits, and the proximity to stunning nature are all a big plus, but having family there and already speaking the local language make it stand apart from other European destinations.
Though I am yet to start the proper post-PhD job search, Finland will remain at the forefront of my mind when planning my next move. I may be swayed by a particularly fitting position elsewhere in Europe, or may choose to move continents later on in my career, but the first steps in my search will definitely be facing homeward.
Karolina is affiliated with The University of Edinburgh. The opinions in this post are her own and do not reflect the views of her organisation.

