The Hague, 15 June 2009

The Netherlands needs more top (scientific) talent, from within the Netherlands but also from outside our borders. China is a particular growth market for young researchers. That is why the Innovation Platform is keen to start a four year pilot with China in the near future aimed at recruiting top scientific talent and strengthening the collaboration on research. This ‘China pilot’ has been developed under the leadership of Innovation Platform member Robbert Dijkgraaf.

Doctoral research in the Netherlands requires a substantial boost. Compared to leading innovation nations within Europe the Netherlands has few researchers within its working population. Where leading countries have 11 researchers per 1000 employees, the Netherlands is stuck at just under 6. The Netherlands is particularly underrepresented in terms of PhD students. The Netherlands has the ambition of being a fully fledged knowledge economy by 2016. In order to achieve this, the Netherlands needs a permanent increase in the number of (scientific) researchers. Existing initiatives to increase the inflow of (scientific) researchers are not achieving the desired result. Even in the current economic crisis, there are still a large number of ‘chronic’ vacancies. The Innovation Platform has decided to initiate a pilot with China. In recent years China has developed into a top academic nation within the international arena, and this positive development is not just continuing, but is actually accelerating. More than 4 million people graduate in China every year, of whom half in the scientific subjects. Many of them want to continue their studies and carry out research in the West. The Netherlands is - unfairly, in the Innovation Platform’s opinion - not yet sufficiently perceived as an interesting country in which to carry out (doctoral) research, even though Dutch scientific research is of very high quality in international terms. The ultimate aim of the pilot is to bring about a successful match between top talent from China and the chronic vacancies in the Netherlands.

The China pilot involves expanding the representation of Dutch scientific research at the embassy in China. This will enable Dutch science to speak with one voice. In the Netherlands the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) and the NOW (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research), in close collaboration with universities and research institutes, will energetically examine the position of Dutch research and identify the existing vacancies. Efforts will thus be made in China and the Netherlands which highlight the strengths of Dutch research in China and can attract highly qualified talent.

This pilot is part of the 1000 PhDs project, one of the activities under the change agenda The Netherlands in the World – Connecting global ambitions. This change agenda was presented to the Prime Minister in October 2008. A Taskforce chaired by Innovation Platform member and KNAW president Robbert Dijkgraaf has developed this pilot for the Innovation Platform.

For further information about this press release and the Innovation Platform please contact Maria Henneman, 06 11376550 and 06 51381188, mh@innovatieplatform.nl and www.innovatieplatform.nl.