Today, 30 academics from seven universities across South East Europe will gather together, demonstrating that UNESCO and HP’s joint “Piloting Solutions for Alleviating Brain Drain in South East Europe” project improves research capacities and international collaboration, while contributing to boosting human capital in the region.

Over the past decade, South East European countries have suffered from emigration of up to 70 percent of skilled professionals, devastating scientific research and higher education capacities at many universities. Conceived by UNESCO in the framework of its strategy for South East Europe, the project was jointly launched with HP in 2003 to provide grid computing technology to universities and financial support to encourage young scientists to remain in the region and cooperate with the Diaspora.

“Not only has the project strengthened scientific and educational capacities at the national level, but it has also re-established dialogue among young researchers from the region after years of broken communication,” states Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic, who conceived the project in the Education Sector at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.

The grid project has recently been extended to include the Polytechnic University in Tirana, Albania and the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje in Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, presenting an opportunity for representatives from all the beneficiary universities to meet at Lake Ohrid (a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site) in FYR of Macedonia to exchange experiences and raise new ideas, cooperation activities and projects, as well as to discuss the future of the programme. “The project has been very successful so far and now incorporates two more universities, and we also have plans to replicate the project in Africa,” says Gabriele Zedlmayer, vice president of Corporate Affairs, HP EMEA. “Through HP’s grid technology, local university faculties can re-establish links to colleagues and university resources abroad. The project will also help them identify international partnerships and funding opportunities, as well as address the Bologna Process and other international developments of common interest.”

In the 1990s, South Eastern European countries affected by conflicts lost not only lives on a massive scale, but also intellectual capacity. Research indicates that two out of three of teaching and research jobs were lost in some university facilities, devastating the research and development sectors in many of these countries.

As well as being affected by massive emigration of skilled professionals, known as brain ‘drain’, South Eastern Europe is also suffering from brain ‘waste’ – scientists leaving their professions for better paid jobs in the private sector.

In an effort to combat these negative trends, the “Piloting Solutions for Alleviating Brain Drain” has now provided technology to universities in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, and Serbia & Montenegro to help them harness the power of grid computing.

“The project has resulted in the creation of websites, databases and new research projects at several of the universities involved. There are a large number of young scientists involved, which is a positive sign for the future of scientific research and education in the region,” says Howard Moore, director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science for Europe, which is responsible for implementing the UNESCO-HP project.

In addition to improving research capabilities, the “Piloting Solutions For Alleviating Brain Drain” project addresses the wider need for urgent action to assist the reconstruction process in South East European countries affected by conflict.

The initiative has had an important political impact and has contributed to overcoming boundaries and enhancing dialogue between people in a region that has recently known mistrust and unrest. For instance, in Sarajevo the grid project has re-established links between the Bosnian and Serb university communities. It has also raised awareness and encouraged decision-makers towards taking political and practical measures to reverse brain drain.

The UNESCO-HP partnership has contributed to improving cooperation and thus stabilisation in the region, which serves as a catalyst for successful integration into the European and global communities. Beneficiary universities now have the opportunity to establish regional and international partnerships with organisation such as the CERN, ICTP, Gelato Federation and European Commission projects.

In addition to the research projects facilitated by the grid, beneficiary universities also have an opportunity to discuss broader issues such as the Bologna Process, the shift in scientific education and technology professions in Europe, as well as the effects of the brain drain phenomenon on a worldwide scale.

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled .8 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.

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