As Congress tries to curb competition in China’s computer chip manufacturing, investing billions to support the domestic semiconductor industry will be futile if the US does not do more to attract and retain international students.
The CHIPS-Plus Act leaves untouched the real barriers to hiring the human capital needed to fuel the U.S. semiconductor industry, and all STEM fields for that matter.
The battle for supremacy in high-tech research begins in the classroom and currently China rivals the US in this arena. China has quadrupled bachelor’s students and twice as many graduate and Ph.D. students in STEM from the United States every year.
To succeed in the high-tech arms race, we must both nurture homegrown talent and attract the world’s best and brightest to our higher education institutions. Our archaic immigration system, combined with the tough requirements to study and work here, is at odds with our efforts to excel in the latter.
The US currently attracts nearly a million international students each year, but the barriers to setting foot on a US campus are high. They are more likely to prevent you from going to work, studying or starting a business after graduation.
It is in the best interest of the US to address these issues. International students on U.S. campuses have advanced U.S. foreign policy, diplomacy, and homeland security goals for generations, while also enriching the worldviews of their domestic classmates and making important contributions to local communities and economies—almost $25 billion this time. 2020-2021 school year. Since 2000, more than half of U.S. unicorns—startups valued at $1 billion or more—have been founded or founded by immigrants. Consider that Modern founder Nubar Afyan started his career as an international student in the United States. He also pointed out that an additional 100,000 international students will graduate from American colleges and universities every year and want to work permanently in the US. This decade could add up to $233 billion to the US economy and reduce the STEM-related talent shortage by a quarter.
Meanwhile, our competing countries, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, are developing welcoming policies to recruit and retain the world’s global talent. For example, the UK has achieved its goal of hosting 600,000 international students over the entire decade of 2030 by creating more post-study job opportunities and ensuring immigration policies are receptive to international research talent. Similarly, Canada surpassed the threshold of attracting 450,000 international students three years ago, adopting an expedited visa process for certain qualified students, granting post-school work visas of up to three years, and making it easier for international students to immigrate.
The US, in contrast, lacks a nationally coordinated government strategy for international education. The total number of new international students enrolled at US colleges and universities is at Down trend, the other countries mentioned above are experiencing Double digit growth International student enrollment. Since 2001, the U.S. share of the international student market is estimated to have declined by eight percent.
The price of inaction is high. As the Departments of State and Education affirmed in a joint statement of principles issued a year ago, “This competition represents a direct challenge to America’s leadership in research and innovation, our capacity and ability to address shared global concerns.” To effectively uphold universal values such as human rights, the rule of law, and justice and tolerance at the international level.
We couldn’t agree more.
With efforts to pass a comprehensive American Competitiveness and Innovation legislative package falling short, now is the time for the United States government to harness the vast potential of global education to fully assert its global competitiveness.
The US should adopt a national strategy for international education that establishes targets, policies and funding programs to increase the number and diversity of international students at US institutions of higher education. increasing the number and diversity of American students participating in study abroad programs; and promote efforts to internationalize American campuses. Because international education policy is under the purview of more than one federal agency, a coordinating body should be established within the White House to ensure collaboration and consensus among key federal agencies.
Second, US visa and immigration law and policy must be updated and improved to provide the predictability necessary to attract and retain international students. This includes allowing international student visa applicants to demonstrate an intent to stay in the United States after graduation, updating immigration law to facilitate employment opportunities for graduate students in STEM fields and non-STEM fields, and improving the visa application process. .
These and other key adjustments could make the difference between U.S. workers being left behind or leading the pack.
Esther D. Brimmer, DPhilExecutive Director and CEO NAFSA: International Association of Teachers.
