This time we heard from a professor about brain drain, one of Turkey’s biggest problems. The team that won the first place in the Teknofest Chip Design Contest migrated abroad. Team leader Prof. Dr. We heard what happened and more from Oğuz Ergin.
We have shed light on the brain drain issue, which is one of Turkey’s increasing problems every year, and we have talked to many people who have migrated abroad, and we have why did they go abroad We have conveyed it to you from their own mouths.
Well, about the brain drain, a name that has sent its students abroad for years what does he think? Today, we are here with a content that sheds light on the brain drain and the reasons behind it.
Prof., who spent a significant amount of effort in the development of domestic processors. Dr. Meet Oğuz Ergin, he has been training students for this for 17 years
prof. Dr. Oguz Ergin, graduated from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at METU, did his PhD on microprocessor architecture at the State University of New York and also worked at Intel. Returning to Turkey in 2006 by joining TOBB ETÜ, Oğuz Ergin also served as a consultant to ASELSAN and TAI.
At the moment TOBB ETU Computer Engineering Department Head Ergin, who carries out his duty, continues to closely observe the brain drain for years…
All members of the Kasırga team are leaving Turkey…
prof. Dr. Oğuz Ergin, in 2008, at TOBB ETÜ.HurricaneHe formed a team he named ”. The team, which is constantly evolving with Oğuz Ergin and his students, focuses on processor development. Unfortunately, many of the students included in the Kasırga team migrated abroad. Moreover, the last students participating in this migration, this year’s Digital Category winners of Teknofest’s Chip Design Contest.
The reason for this situation actually lies in the titles that we will talk about shortly.
First Teknofest success, then abroad:
Every year, thousands of students immigrate abroad to get quality education, pursue an academic career or work in top companies. That includes almost all of the students on the Hurricane team. But this situation causes a vicious circle in our country.
To keep the students he trained in Turkey lack of necessary infrastructureStating that the working places are limited, Prof. Dr. Ergin underlines that the perception that doctoral education in Turkey is not sufficient in terms of quality pushes students abroad in this sense. The lack of doctoral students also causes different problems such as the lack of publications, the decline of universities in Turkey in international rankings.
“If a qualified teacher does not return from abroad, if a qualified student does not do a doctorate in Turkey, where will these universities find qualified teachers? Can he be a qualified graduate of a university that does not have a qualified teacher?” Ergin says, pointing to the vicious circle the academy is in.
Is there no job for those who stay in Turkey?
There are also those in the Kasırga team who did not go abroad but started to work in important companies in Turkey. Especially defense companies are recruiting qualified students. However, the same companies also put an obstacle in front of qualified human resources:
“Despite defense companies hiring large numbers of personnel, They do not provide the expected efficiency.” Ergin states that the statist structure in Turkey creates an obstacle for defense companies to act like companies and that these companies operate as an extension of the state.
“Defence companies must now act like companies so that there can be a free market. Turkey is not functioning like a free market at the moment, entrepreneurship cannot develop because it does not.”
“How can we tell the students to stay?”
Ergin said that he always works with young people, they take the studies to a certain level and then sends them abroad. “This is our business model. We are the PAF team of international research groups. It’s sad, but true.” says. He points to the level of work and welfare abroad as an important reason for the endless cycle he is in, and adds that he also observes that the living conditions of his students working in important companies abroad have improved.
So, is the brain drain of students really a loss for our country? Yes, and a great loss:
Recently, we have heard many explanations from many names about the positive aspects of brain drain. Those who go with a brain drain and come back with a reverse brain drain can contribute to our country. shared. However, according to Ergin, such a thing does not happen under current conditions:
“There is not much thought of going back. Even if he thinks, he has no expectations. He has already accepted. In other words, as soon as he thinks, he says, ‘I’m going to get into this trouble anyway, and my reasons for entering are completely different’.
So much so that Ergin actually offered some of his students teaching at his own university until today, but These offers have been turned down.
“Human resources are the land of the homeland.” Companies, government and educational institutions have a big job:
Emphasizing that highly qualified people are trained in the current education system, and the processor development team also came out of this system, Ergin said, It is necessary to learn from the successes of people who go abroad. argues. “Why can’t we meet these conditions here?” He adds that it should be asked.
“In order to return, it is necessary to do the quality work that people expect here, to ensure the welfare there, and to offer these people the opportunity to continue their lives without being disturbed.”
“I sometimes talk to my outgoing students; They say that we will support from there, send money to our family, come to Turkey and take a vacation, and that’s how we will close the current account deficit. But what we need is not their money, but themselves. We need a man to keep this country alive. That’s why we shouldn’t be proud of them going abroad and being successful there. We should regret this. Brain drain is lost. The human resource is the land of the homeland.”
Teenagers need to “learn to learn”:
There is also great advice for students to help Turkey gain qualified academic staff and avoid the brain drain.
According to Ergin, the awareness of ‘learning to learn’ should be instilled in students in some way in primary or secondary education. But in the current education system, unfortunately, this role is left directly to the students. For this, in fact, Oğuz Ergin’s definition of ‘bad student’ must not obey:
“The first way to be a bad student; focus only on getting good grades, the second way; refraining from engaging in research work, only going in and out of lectures, and the third way; not to do business without getting paid. But of course, these are things against the soul. The human soul wants to get more money and do less work. ‘Human; When I say let him train his soul and learn to learn, this is what I mean by getting rid of the culture of earning without working.”
You can reach Oğuz Ergin’s article ‘How to Be a Bad Student’ from this link.
“Do not despair”
“As someone who has sent the people he has trained for seventeen years abroad, I do not lose hope. I’ve just formed three new teams right now. We will attend the next Teknofest again. I will train people who will learn how to make processors again, and probably most of them will go again. Despite that; I continue to do this, and I will, in order to be ready for the day when they will not go. This effort must continue until the Turkish youth in Turkey can make their own processors, stay here and do these things. There is no need to despair.”
prof. Dr. Oğuz Ergin did not explain the situation in our country only with these statements. If we put all of Ergin’s explanations in this article, we would probably get more than 1 hour of reading time.
With the information Oğuz Ergin gave us, we will continue to receive different content regarding the problems he pointed out, don’t forget to stay tuned.