In an interview with EurActiv Czech Republic, Říhová said Europe needs to reward teachers and scientists better and must boost research spending if it is to keep its top talent.
She said European countries have a “strange inability” to take advantage of educated and creative young people – a problem that continues to benefit transatlantic competitors.
“Europe educates good university students and PhD students. These students study how to work in science, they are in close contact with new ideas and also with modern ways of solving scientific problems. It costs a lot of money but when we need to take advantage of these people, Europe starts to economise,” she said.
Říhová, herself a microbiologist and immunologist, said science graduates need to view Europe as a place where they can better themselves. “There are not enough opportunities or money for them. That´s why they leave. And the number one country they leave for is still the US,” she said.
Working in the US provides a major career boost for young scientists and attracts top talent from Europe, Asia and elsewhere. “In this way, the US gets young people who are well prepared without investing a single dolar in their education,” Říhová complained.
She said mobility is a major problem for European researchers, where red tape makes it difficult to move to a new job outside your own member state. Říhová said EU funds should be more flexible and must become pro-mobility in order to help complete the European Research Area.
According to the EYCI Ambassador, salaries are also part of the solution to making researchers‘ careers more attractive. She said taletned scientists are sometimes forced to leave their jobs for financial reasons. “Let me be clear, I do not want to say that scientists should have an extraordinary income, but it should be respectable.”
Most research funding should come from business, she said, adding that public finance should be available only for those who already have a track record of “inventing practical things, producing them and ultimately bringing them to the market”.
Říhová is one of 27 Ambassadors for the EYCI which have produced a Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation, due to be presented to the EU executive this week (November 12).
Blanka Říhová was speaking to Jan Vitasek of EurActiv Czech Republic
