Globalisation, migration and knowledge generation: a study on higher education institutions in Bangladesh

Abstract

There has been a marked transformation in the pattern of international migration since the 1980s, a shift of highly skilled migrants from developed to developing countries leading to brain gain from brain drain for the latter region. While skilled migration is now a well-documented research area, brain gain is still an underrepresented area. In order to understand the culture of brain gain, this research has studied the pattern of return migration of academics in Bangladesh. In this qualitative study, a group of returned academics working in private universities in their home country have been chosen through purposive sampling to participate in semi-structured interviews. The key objective of the study is to explore the factors involved in the return migration of academics to Bangladesh. The paper also examines the desirable outcomes of the academics’ return to the home country. The research findings indicate that in recent years, private universities have created opportunities for migrant academics to come back to their home country, and both instrumental and altruistic values were considered in their decisions to return. These academics are eager to make productive contributions and want to become agents in the process of raising the quality of higher education in Bangladesh.