A new program has been launched to capitalise on the “urgent and unparalleled opportunity” to attract American researchers to Australia following fears of the US administration’s cuts to science institutions.

The Australian Academy of Science this month launched the Global Talent Attraction Program, including a “competitive relocation package” aiming to attract the “smartest minds” from the US.

A series of orders and funding cuts from the Trump administration has led to widespread concerns about the future of science research in the country.

The US federal congressional budget has put forward billions of dollars in funding cuts across the country’s higher education institutions.
It also placed a 15 per cent cap on indirect costs for all federally-funded research by the National Institute of Health, the biggest funder of scientific research in the world.

The US government has also recently been at loggerheads with Harvard University after the institution refused to comply with a series of demands, leading the Trump administration to freeze billions in funding and threaten to cancel its tax-free status.

A potential brain drain

This has led to a predicted brain drain of science and tech talent from the US, with countries around the world now vying to welcome these people to their shores.

According to a survey by Nature of the more than 1,600 US researcher respondents, three-quarters are considering leaving the country.

Nature also found that the number of US-based researchers applying for jobs overseas has increased by 32 per cent between January and March compared with the same period last year.

The new Australian Academy of Science program is aiming to bring some of those researchers and scientists to Australia.

“Australia has an urgent and unparalleled opportunity to attract the smartest minds leaving the United States to seed capability here and nurture the next generation of scientists and innovators,” Australian Academy of Science president Professor Chennupati Jagadish said.

“We must act swiftly to capitalise on this opportunity.

“There is no time to waste as other countries have already recognised the opportunity and are mobilising to attract talent to their shores.”

Global competition for US talent

The Academy is now looking for funders to contribute to its program, which will be institution and discipline-agnostic and will “prioritise excellence and focus on areas of national need when attracting talent to our shores”.

Australia will be competing with Canada and a number of European nations to attract these US workers, with many similar programs launched around the world.

French president Emmanuel Macron recently hinted at this in a post where he urged researchers to “choose France, choose Europe”.

“Here in France, research is a priority, innovation a culture, science a limitless horizon.”

French institution Aix-Marseille University has recently opened applications for the Safe Space for Science program, which is targeted at US researchers looking to work elsewhere.

Belgium has also launched a similar scheme targeting American scientists who are “under threat”.

US cancels visas

Earlier this month, an artificial intelligence doctoral student in California had their student visa revoked by the US government after having studied in America for nearly a decade.

The student was told by their college’s international student centre that they’d been identified in a criminal record check, but said they did not have a criminal record.

More than a thousand international students in the US have had their visas challenged by the US administration this year.

Last month Australia’s science agency, CSIRO, was sent a questionnaire by the US government asking questions around funding from China and whether they are undertaking climate or “environmental justice” projects.

There are reports that around 13 Australian universities have received similar questionnaires, which also included queries on whether US-funded research projects align with the Trump administration’s orders around “gender ideology” and “Marxist equity”.

While a number of scientists and researchers appear on the verge of leaving the US, the Trump administration is planning to sell American green cards to “wealthy and successful” foreigners for nearly $8 million.