Brain Drain Migration from Romanian Academia. The End of a Mirage

Abstract

Abstract The article is focused on the image of migration that Romanian academics transmit through the invisible curricula of the universities. These opinions are bound to become vectors of the future behaviour of graduates and legitimate a certain approach to brain drain. The goal of the research was to find how opinions and intentions on migration changed between 2000 and 2013 and what possible explanations can be found for these changes. The analysed data were collected in two sample surveys, one conducted in 2000 and another one in 2013. The results clearly show that there is an impressive change in the interest of Romanian academics to emigrate. Information and personal experience on migration and international mobility have become pervasive in the higher education system. Migration as a mirage, as a temptation not fully understood, does not exist anymore in Romanian higher education.