Talents heed the call of home

08:50, May 18, 2010      

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A growing number of overseas-educated scientists are returning home, reports Wang Shanshan in Beijing.

After 16 years as a scientist at one of Britain's top laboratories, Cui Zheng was to get a little bored with just publishing papers in science journals. He wanted to be at the heart of the action - in China.

The 55-year-old was among the most respected scientists at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in England, yet the lure of getting more practical experience in his homeland proved too strong.

"I like practical research and I have always wanted to do something about the application of my technologies," said Cui, a leading expert in nanofabrication technology. "I thought it would be easier for me to do that in China."

Cui returned last October as part of the Thousand Talents program - a government project to attract experts from overseas - and is finally getting hands-on experience as a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' institute of nanotechnology and nanobiotics.

"I'd have probably waited longer to look for other opportunities to return were it not for the program. It provides a more privileged position than programs before it," said the scientist now based in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Launched in 2008, the Thousand Talents program targets Chinese and foreign academics working at the world's best institutions or as entrepreneurs. "These high-end talents are a crucial resource that the country is short of," said Li Yuanchao, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in Shanghai in April last year.

More than 600 people, mostly Chinese, have already signed up. They all lead or are about to lead research teams at Chinese universities, laboratories, State-owned enterprises and science parks, or setting up their own businesses.

Each new recruit receives 1 million yuan ($146,000) from the central government, as well as funding from their employers. The Chinese Academy of Sciences promises to allocate 10 million yuan to every talent.

"These experts are now an elite class in China's academic system," said Li Keping, a professor of railway transportation at Beijing Jiaotong University. "Most of them are in management positions and some of them will become academicians. Their arrival (at an institution) often leads to a reshuffle (of staff)."

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