The Impact of Emigration on Slovak Mathematics: The Case of the Bratislava Graph Theory Seminar
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The Impact of Emigration on Slovak Mathematics: The Case of the Bratislava Graph Theory Seminar ROBERT JAJCAY
AND
MILAN LEKA´R
This column is a forum for discussion of mathematical communities throughout the world, and through all time. Our definition of ‘‘mathematical community’’ is the broadest: ‘‘schools’’ of mathematics, circles of correspondence, mathematical societies, student organizations, extra-curricular educational activities (math camps, math museums, math clubs), and more. What we say about the communities is just as unrestricted. We welcome contributions from mathematicians of all kinds and in all places, and also from scientists, historians, anthropologists, and others.
â Submissions should be uploaded to http://tmin.edmgr.com or sent directly to Marjorie Senechal, [email protected]
he main aim of our research is to explore the impact of emigration on the development of mathematics in Slovakia. While the importance of such research is unquestionable, this topic has not yet received the attention it deserves. Even though similar research carried out in other countries allows for generalizations applicable to Slovakia [13, 25], the situation in each country is unique. For example, an extensive study of the effects of emigration from Albania [13], a country experiencing some of the greatest emigration rates in Europe, offers a number of historical and societal parallels but focuses on more general parameters such as the impact on the labor market or the economic potential of returned migrants. Nevertheless, some of the general ideas presented in that study, such as the ‘‘Strategy on the Reintegration of Returned Albanians’’ and the ‘‘Brain Gain Program,’’ still have their place in our more specialized text. On the other hand, the majority of studies originating in the United States tend to focus on the impact of immigration of foreign mathematicians into the USA [26, 33], with the personal account of Solomon Lefschetz serving as an example of the value of personal experience (or ‘‘case study,’’ as one says nowadays). In the context of our research, the term ‘‘brain drain,’’ used to denote the mass emigration of university-educated people, has perhaps been overused. The negative impact of the brain drain is generally (often officially) taken for granted without any further research toward establishing whether the negative impact is indeed a fact or without attempting to quantify its negativity. Clearly, one of the reasons for this neglect is the simple fact that any objective evaluation of this complex question has to take into account a number of interconnected issues, including the social and historical development in Slovakia and the world, as well as comparisons with the situation in other similarly impacted countries. A complex and meaningful evaluation of the impact of emigration on the development of mathematics in Slovakia would indeed be a very large project that most likely could not be undertaken by a single individual without institutional support. To put this into perspective, the ab
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