Looking East

Welcome to this special issue of EuroScientist entitled Looking East!

This issue is dedicated to research and innovation in Eastern Europe. It is useful to clarify, here, the definition of this term for the purpose of this special issue. It is defined in the widest possible geographical sense. It encompasses what are commonly referred to as Central and Eastern European countries, the Balkans and the Baltic States as well as the Russian Federation and it former satellite countries. In other words, countries located East of an imaginary line going from Berlin to Rome, all the way to the Urals, who distinguish themselves by their broad diversity and cultural variations, but are located in the same broad geographical region.

In this issue we explore the skills gap of these counties, due to sustained brain drain. An entire generation has left these countries, while only a small proportion has been attracted back. By contrast, we also give examples of sectors, such as clinical trials and IT, where Eastern Europe has proven attractive to the private sector for its highly skilled work force.

In parallel, we take a look at the challenges facing scientists who are currently training in these countries. This shows the need for higher recognition to the status of PhD and for better mentoring during doctoral training.

Other contributions focus on the role of research policy in ensuring that good practice becomes more widespread within the region.

Finally, we dedicate a couple of articles on a case study of Poland . These show of how several public and private initiatives are helping shape up the research and innovation landscape there.

We hope this special issue will give you a better idea about what is happening in Eastern Europe. We welcome your feedback. Feel free to comment using the dialogue box at the end of each article, or to send us a letter to the editor at: [email protected].

If you enjoy this issue, don’t forget to share it widely with your contacts. You can also view here a print edition of the “Looking East” issue.

Thanks for your support.

The EuroScientist team.

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