At the time of opening this blog, back in November 2007, its author wrote:
Italy has a serious scientific research excellence problem at home. Why there are so few foreign scientists in Italian Labs? Is the Italian academic job ladder closed to foreigners? Something new is happening, just may be, and I feel an urge to report it.
Several months later, these hopes, at least for the moment, have capsized. The Government that was bringing some of the boldest attempts of reforming the system, offering a few – albeit crumbles – foundations of hope for research careers as well as laboratory independence for the younger generations, has fallen down.
The new center-right Government has been busy thinking of how to cut public expenditure, including cutting funds to research, which, after all, has not been the focal point of any Government in the past few decades in the Bel Paese. Today’s copy of Nature highlights some of the maneuvers that are being launched.
This has been a week of protests in the streets for Italian Researchers. Though not exactly on North-American style, investigator research-driven tenure tracks, yet on some sort of tracks to stability, a couple of thousands young and not-so-young researchers now risk being derailled back into rough and uncertain seas. Some of the early street protests have been the opposite of compact. Backed by opposed workers’ Unions, there has been competition between them to secure consensus, producing unhealthy fractionation and weak, un-coordinated protests. That was bad.
A few months ago, a competition was launched to offer 0.5M Euros to about 30 researchers to pursue their own ideas. Over 1,700 researchers applied. It’s still unclear what will happen with funds for this initiative, and some have reported bad feelings, including funds being diverted elsewhere. That would be a bold slap in the face of 1,700 hopefuls. I am ready to get my own face slapped, once more. My first time was in 2002, when I had competed in Agenzia 2001, a similar initiative that was set in place to foster young investigator-driven research, supported by the Italian Research Council, CNR. At the time, many young researchers, including myself, had spent weeks putting together and submitting their proposals, only to find out later that the competition had been canceled, due to lack of funds.
Being in a moment of crisis, this blog won’t encourage foreign scientists to pursue a career in this country, at least for some while. Science in Italy is not worth the offenses that it gets offered with. Enter this country at your own risk.
Until better times, this blog will talk about the weather, instead. That, in Italy, is often good, despite our swinging Governments.
Please don’t mention the weather…
Some weather in Helsinki, right now
More seriously, I did think of you when I read that article this morning. It sounds pretty disastrous for Italian research. is there a massive brain drain going on/about to happen?
Hi Bob!
It’s all very hectic at the moment. But yes, there may be an unprecedented brain drain.
It would be nice if you had a live webcam!
The problem is enormous and not restricted to Italy. How long, O Lord, how long will it be until governments realize that science is not only vital for the health of a nation, but for its wealth and well-being, both financially and culturally? Some countries do what they can (UK, France, Germany) though arguably not enough – but at least it’s better than regarding science as an optional extra (Italy) or something that is there to serve political ends (USA).
Massimo, I feel your pain. We are on the brink, but not in those straits yet.
Come work in France, if you like. Nice, at least, is not so far…?
Mariastella Gelmini is being particularly difficult to understand. This is simply the dismantlement of a whole portion of her portfolio?!
I understand people’s annoyance with bloated civil service sectors. But clearly there are differences in value for the government of some employees over others. The question is how to make your government understand that simple principle, and that blind budget cuts can have terrible long-term effects.
In my opinion, researchers are less like a compagnia di ventura than they are like patron-supported artists. They are perhaps a luxury in some cultures, but if you expect to keep them, you need to invest in them. Then they will produce and enhance both your image and the heritage of human knowledge. If our governments have been set up to be patrons, and many of them are, they need to behave as such.
Also, since researchers in Italy are considered to be simply mercenaries who have to rip our pay from the pockets of innocent civilians, so be it. Go occupy Gelmini’s ministry until she actually does something for you. Since you won’t get paid otherwise, you don’t have anything better to do.
Oh, Massimo – you’re trying to rub it in, aren’t you? Well, it’s cleared up a bit now:
Some weather in Helsinki, right now
It’s a lovely autumn day here at the Maison Des Girrafes:
Oh, stop showing off.
Here’s a nice view I took while walking the dog this lunchtime…
I have noticed a gradual increase in Italian nationals taking up faculty positions in UK universities. They are generally very good, even if they tend to complain about the so-called Italian resuarants in the UK.
So, is the UK academic
unstitutioninstitution now supporting European research and researchers more than other European countries?I’m honestly not trying to be xenophobic here, as I
lap upscrape by on Finnish tax payers’ hard earned markka, but perhaps there could be some pressure from within the UK to increase science funding from the EU to fund more permanent positions in the UK for nationals and non-nationals to continue their excellent research, seeing as how other countries are actively flushing their science programmes down the lavatory.I’m sure a lot of non-Brits would also rather be doing well funded research in their own countries, but have no other choice than to go where there is actually funding available.
“Oh, to be in England, now that October’s there …”
~ Abroad Thoughts from Home
But seriously, Massimo, it’s no comfort whatsoever to know that researchers and science in other countries are suffering from the same budget shortfalls that plague research in the US. It’s a dire situation with no easy solution, and in my more depressed moments, I feel as if we’re sliding into another intellectual Dark Ages.
@henry gee: the idea that this isn’t just an italian problem makes me feel worst… but maybe you are right. anyway I’d like to have the same problem the governmente of UK, France or Germany have with their research… sad but true.
@Marco: That is similar to what Massimo wrote in my blog post about some sprinkling of attractive salary measures among the junior professors to be recruited in the near future in France. Essentially, “I should have your problems”. It’s almost how I feel about the U.S., now that I don’t actually apply for NIH funding myself.
True, I wouldn’t want the Italian situation, but I would think that misery loves company. And it’s a good time, as Mike implies, to think about a pan-European research structure that could smooth out some of these disparities and thereby enable researchers to not have to flow so fast from one system to another in order to put bread on the table and do what they are qualified to do? Or is that too interferist and utopian?
@
HelenHeather: there may be chances that these money-saving maneuvers won’t affect the researchers as much as other categories of civil servants. But it’s a big if at this stage. As far as protests are concerned, there is one every single day now. Next week may get very rough indeed. I would not mind Nice: do you need my CV? 8-}@ Henri & Kristi: The situation in the US is by no means joyful, but at least the role of scientific research in that society is somewhat more ground-based than in my home country. That is my perception.
@ Mike: I would be happy if EU and Euro-area membership would require some constraints on research funding levels, as one additional marker of a country’s stability. It’s hard to believe that Italy will be on target with the goals that were set in Lisbon, and later in Barcelona, and yet I don’t think that Italy get kicked out of the EU because of that (we may get scolded, though, oh dear). Given the way my country is behaving, I am inclined to think that we’d need some ol’
actionpaternalism here.@ Henri & Bob: There is rain in Rome, today, if that helps Bob.
I completely agree with the observation that governaments (but not only Italian) are overlooking the importance of research in society. Researcher should stop waiting money and job positions from the governament and start to be economically independent. Rather than complaining about how politicians (not only Italians!) influence research probably we should start a new way of thinking and proposing science to society.
“How long, O Lord, how long will it be until governments realize that science is not only vital for the health of a nation, but for its wealth and well-being, both financially and culturally?”
Obama seems to get it…
Of course that does us in Canada no good at all, now that we’re stuck with Harper (subject of some rather vicious Nature editorials recently) for a few more years.
Raining cats and dogs here in Vancouver. I have switched to my full-length cycling leggings, waterproof jacket, and gloves, but need to remember to start putting my work clothes in a plastic bag again. My panniers are not waterproof and damp jeans do not make for a happy Cath. Especially when she has a cold.
Ah well, hopefully there is some ski-able precipitation falling at higher elevations.
Cath: you need Ortlieb panniers. Commuted with them for 20 miles a day in Hertfordshire, England, and always had dry clotes, whatever the rain!
Christian: there is no substantial private funding to basic research in Italy. Not yet. I wish there were private funds. We are just too far away from it, from a cultural standpoint.
Hi Massimo, the point for me is that if I could change something in Italy I would fight for research indipendency rather than for research submission to the government because we already know that this strategy is not working at all. That’s why I’d suggest to stop complaining about how government misleads research (this is not a criticism to your comments, of course!)and start to think in a different way! It’s utopic but cold make the differnce. I know that we are too far to this conception but then we shouldn’t complain at all. For me only with a radical change we will make a difference and I hope that this moment will come sooner or later!