International Students: Contributions to
Economic Innovation and Development
Universities as Economic Drivers: Measuring and Building Success
Buffalo, NY
September 26, 2011
Rahul Choudaha, Ph.D.
Director of Development & Innovation
World Education Services
New York, NY
rchoudah@wes.org
212-219-7313
Universities as sources of economic
development and innovation
• “…to provide prime
New York City real
estate, plus up to $100
million in infrastructure
upgrades, in exchange
for a university’s
commitment to build or
expand a world-class
science and
engineering campus
here in our city.”
Michael R. Bloomberg
2
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Mobility of Global Talent
160,000
140,000
120,000
3,890
48,780
100,000
5,210
30,380
80,000
16,310
60,000
40,000
90,700
40,300
8,020
6,650
13,360
22,880
20,000
28,240
16,830
20,900
6,050
24,580
13,110
13,930
0
5,810
8,760
6,780
7,840
16,530
64,950
7,490
7,600
13,780
3,890
7,840
7,910
4,800
2,480
8,980
Fall 2009
Undergraduate
Master's
Doctorate
National Science Foundation 2010
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3
Stagnant demand for STEM degrees…
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (2010)
4
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Total Graduate Enrollment by Field &
Citizenship, Fall 2010
Council of Graduate School (2011)
5
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Entrepreneurship
Wadhwa. 2009
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reserved.
6
Research
Foreign-National Contribution to US Global Patents,
1997-2009
52.0
51.0
% of Patents Granted
50.0
49.0
48.0
47.0
46.0
45.0
44.0
43.0
42.0
41.0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
US Patent and Trademark Office 2010
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reserved.
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“Our central estimates suggest that a 10%
increase in the number of foreign
graduate students would raise patent
applications by 4.7 %, university patent
grants by 5.3 % and non-university
patent grants by 6.7 %”
Chellaraj, Maskuk, & Mattoo. 2005
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reserved.
8
Remittances
Migration Policy Institute 2010
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9
Nepal
23.8 %
Formal Remittances as % of
GDP in 2009
(Migration Policy Institute 2010)
Rank
Country
Students
1
China
127,628
2
India
104,897
3
South Korea
72,153
4
Canada
28,145
5
Taiwan
26,685
6
Japan
24,842
7
Saudi Arabia
15,810
8
Mexico
13,450
9
Vietnam
13,112
10
Turkey
12,397
11
Nepal
11,233
12
Germany
9,548
13
UK
8,861
14
Brazil
8,786
15
Thailand
8,531
Institute of International Education Open Doors 2010
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10
Capacity Enhancement
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-03/11/c_13773804.htm
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11
Capacity Enhancement and Brain
Circulation
“a two-way “brain
circulation” with
potential benefit to
both the United States
and these emerging
economies….”
Wadhwa et.al. (2011.)
12
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Trends in next 5 years…
Trends
Challenges
Future
Directions
• Global student mobility will continue to be strong,
especially for the US
• Future growth in innovation and development will
continue to be driven by global talent
• Good quality institutions, employment prospects
and career advancement in home countries will
pose competition for student mobility
• Mobility of students and high-skilled professionals
is not a zero-sum game
• Every effort should be made to enhance talent
mobility
13
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Feedback / Comments
Rahul Choudaha
rchoudah@wes.org
212-219-7313
14
© 2011 World Education Services, Inc. All rights reserved.