Why Is Türkiye Losing the Talent It Educates?

The decision to leave a country may begin long before a suitcase is packed. It might take shape while waiting for an application to be answered, after a disappointing professional conversation, or around a family table where the next five years suddenly seem difficult to imagine. These are possible situations, not an account of a particular person's experience. They help us remember that people arriving at the same airport may have reached it through very different decisions.

Pay is a legitimate part of the discussion. Wanting to establish a home, raise children and plan ahead is not a character flaw in a skilled professional. Income differences may matter, but they should not be assumed to explain every decision. Working conditions, career development, fair assessment, research opportunities and family circumstances also deserve investigation. Their relative importance must be learned from people themselves, through regular research rather than a few stories chosen to support a preferred conclusion.

Imagine two workplaces. In one, a junior colleague proposes a different method and encounters a discussion of seniority before any examination of the idea. In another, the proposal is considered; if resources are unavailable, someone explains why, and if a small trial is possible, space is found. This is an institutional thought experiment, not a verdict on every workplace in Türkiye. It gives organizations a practical question: which experience do people encounter when they try to contribute?

My first priority would be to improve the conditions for staying. Recruitment and promotion criteria should be visible, with reasons for decisions. Early-career specialists need meaningful responsibilities through which they can develop. Research support should allow teams to plan, rather than continually improvise around temporary arrangements. Technical colleagues also need continuity. Announcing an attractive position for one prominent scientist while overlooking the people needed to operate a laboratory produces a name on a list rather than a functioning team.

Geography belongs in this discussion too. A future in which demanding work is concentrated in a few metropolitan areas offers too narrow a set of choices. Universities and businesses in places such as Diyarbakır, Konya or Samsun could cooperate on specific local production problems. The relationship should result in paid projects for students, first opportunities for graduates and technical improvements for firms. Remote work may contribute, provided arrangements also protect professional development and the rights of those doing it.

Relationships with people abroad should leave room for different lives. Not everyone needs to return permanently. A specialist can contribute through joint research, teaching, advice or a business partnership while living elsewhere. For those who do want to return, a viable offer involves more than travel expenses. A partner's work, children's education and the continuity of research may all matter. A welcoming ceremony followed by years of unsupported difficulty is not an adequate return policy.

The strongest invitation a country can offer is a credible account of the life someone could build there. That means recognizing those who stay, maintaining relationships with those abroad and providing workable opportunities for those who return. Before asking a person to close the suitcase, we should examine the doors available around them. Which one could we open today so that staying becomes a choice they can reasonably make?

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