To halt brain drain, Germany adopts ‘competition’ mantra – A German court last week lifted a ban on tuition. ‘Elite’ is in; ‘egalitarian’ is out.

Like many of Germany’s top-notch scientists, Dirk Krueger left his homeland for the United States, attracted by higher salaries and better research opportunities. But this past fall, the economist gave up a plum assistant professorship at Stanford University and returned home to become a full professor at Frankfurt University.

By offering him swift advancement, the university broke tradition in a system where scholars face a bureaucratic, rung-by-rung climb up.

Krueger’s homecoming represents a success story for German higher education, which is trying to reverse decades of brain drain by attracting global talent, including its own academic expatriates. Recruitment drives may get more muscle after a German court ruling last weekpaved the way for new tuition fees.

By Isabelle de Pommereau | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0201/p07s01-woeu.html?s=hns