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Armenia losing science - scientist

15 April 2011 [17:14] - TODAY.AZ
Armenia’s science is not "ageing". Rather, Armenia is losing science. To earn their living scientists have to change their work or leave Armenia, Armen Sargsyan, Senior Researcher, Institute of Physiology, Armenian National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) reported.

For example, most of the promising scientists that worked at the Institute of Physiology have been leaving abroad since 1990s to continue their career.

"The staff of our Laboratory of Mathematical Modeling of Neuronic Systems alone has four of its members working in Australia, one in Great Britain, one in the United States, one in Canada, and one in Russia," Sargsyan said. "Highly skilled specialists leave for Europe and America to work there and make great progress."

International agencies are more concerned over the brain drain problem in Armenia than the Armenian government. Since 1990s, none of the Armenian government has made a single step to, at least, curb brain drain from Armenia. On the other hand, the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) instituted a Scholarship against brain drain to prevent brain drain from the former Soviet countries.

"They give the scholarship to scientists in the post-soviet countries to enable them to go on working," Sargsyan said.

Poor financing discourages young people from engaging in science. As to the few students wishing to do it, they encounter another obstacle, a limited number of post-graduate students controlled by the Ministry of Defense. Post-graduate study is a means of escaping military service for many, and corruption is thriving in the system.

"Continuing studies abroad is not a difficult task for talented young people. A promising young man will certainly find a university or a research center to cooperate with," Sargsyan said.

If things go on like this, Armenian research centers will soon be closed down, and Armenian talents will add to other nations’ power.


/News.am/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/84535.html

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