Researcher Sohel Murshed, one of the world’s leading experts in aerospace engineering who works at the Instituto Superior Técnico, warned this Sunday of the risk of brain drain from Portugal due to the cost of living and the lack of professional opportunities.
In an interview with Lusa, the researcher, an immigrant from Bangladesh in Lisbon since 2010, defended public policies that help provide stability for researchers in Portugal, so that the country has a return on the investment made in their training.
When he arrived in Lisbon, he helped to consolidate research in aerospace engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), whose degree has one of the highest entrance grades in Portugal, and sees the country that welcomed him as an “excellent teaching ecosystem”, comparable to the “best things being done in the world”. However, warned Sohel Murshed, Portugal continues to lose the best teams due to lack of opportunities.
“They always ask me outside about the students I have because they want to come and get them. Sometimes I don’t even tell the whole truth, because I want to keep them, but it’s very, very difficult”, lamented the researcher.
At issue, according to Sohel Murshed, is the cost of living in Portugal — “Lisbon is unbearable, none of the students can have a life here” -, but also the lack of opportunities.
“Students in Portugal are very talented, comparable to the best students in the world”, but “to continue research in Portugal, it is necessary to be associated with teaching and there are not many vacancies”, he warned.
There is a need to involve the private sector in research but also more public support for research, as a stable career. “People cannot go from postdoctoral fellowship to postdoctoral fellowship. This is not life and the Government must be aware of this problem”, warned one of the world’s leading experts in nanofluids. Otherwise, he maintained, “Portugal spends money training its best but those who will take advantage of them are other countries”.
“Portugal has unique conditions to create centers of excellence, not just in my area. The students are good, they have work habits, and the country is attractive to those coming from outside”, but “an integrated policy is necessary” that transforms research into an “economic model” as happens in other countries, he highlighted.
With a PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in Singapore and traveling through the United States, Sohel Murshed chose Portugal mainly because of the climate. After completing a job in Orlando, Florida, “I had invitations from Ohio (USA), Paris and Lisbon. I wanted to explore Europe, but Paris was too cold”, he recalled.
Based in Lisbon since 2010, he has worked as a guest at other international educational institutions, has already acquired Portuguese nationality and does not think about leaving.
“I like Portugal. I could go anywhere else, but my children are Portuguese and the work is rewarding”, he highlighted. “But that, unfortunately, is not the case for many of my students,” said Sohel Murshed.