Top young Chinese scientists are returning home from Cambridge, Massachusetts – a city that houses some of America’s most renowned universities – at a higher rate than anywhere else in the world, according to a new study.
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A team of population geographers looked at around 1,250 Chinese researchers who moved back to mainland China over 12 years from 2009. They found that Beijing was the most favoured destination, accounting for more than a third of the returnees. A further 17 per cent opted for Shanghai, the second most popular destination.
Without providing their exact figures, they said Cambridge was the largest source of returnees, and also the “primary source of returning talent to Beijing and Shanghai”.
The researchers added that Singapore was the main source for those who moved to Nanjing, while those leaving Hong Kong for the mainland favoured Guangzhou and Wuhan.
Cambridge is home to world-renowned institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with biotech firms such as Moderna and Pfizer, which both developed their own mRNA Covid vaccines.
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The city, which forms part of the greater Boston metropolitan area, is also known for Kendall Square, an area described as “the most innovative square mile on the planet” and is home to hundreds of start-ups focusing on biotech research and innovation.
For the study, researchers from the faculty of geography of Tianjin Normal University and the National Academy of Innovation Strategy, a Beijing-based think tank, looked into the education and career profiles of scientists who had studied or worked outside mainland China and then returned to benefit from the National Outstanding Young Scientist Fund.