From: von Zedtwitz, Max < >
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 12:21:49 +0100
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19)

According to several studies in the Science magazine, Swiss science compares
well internationally. It ranks top in a number of fundamental research
disciplines (a 1997 study) and also produces a surprising number startup
companies (see annual Financial Times survey).

Research in siting international business units (e.g., R&D, HQs) of foreign
companies cites the following reasons for Swiss attractiveness: central
European location, excellent leisure and cultural offering (yes, the Alps!),
multilingual, excellent business infrastruture, good business culture, good
technological and scientific infrastructure.

To come back to the original question -- brain drain -- Reuters just
published yet the latest -- or earliest? -- example of a Swiss expatriate
leaving his home country to pursue a career abroad... Check out the
following story at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030210/od_uk_nm/oukoe_br
itain_stonehenge_1

The full text is enclosed below.
Cheers, Max

----
Stonehenge "King" was from central Europe
Mon Feb 10,10:22 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - The construction of one of the country's most famous
ancient landmarks, the towering megaliths at Stonehenge in southern England,
might have been supervised by the Swiss, or maybe even the Germans.
Archaeologists studying the remains of a wealthy archer found in a
4,000-year-old grave exhumed near Stonehenge last year said on Monday he was
originally from the Alps region, probably modern-day Switzerland, Austria or
Germany.
	"He would have been a very important person in the Stonehenge area
and it is fascinating to think that someone from abroad -- probably
modern-day Switzerland -- could have played an important part in the
construction of the site," said archaeologist Andrew Fitzpatrick in a
statement.
	The so-called "Amesbury Archer" was found in a grave about three
miles (five km) from the landmark, buried with 100 items, including gold
earrings, copper knives and pottery. Researchers hailed the find -- dating
from about 2,300 B.C. and the oldest known grave in Britain -- as one of the
richest early Bronze Age sites in Europe. He was dubbed "The King of
Stonehenge" because of the lavish items found in his grave, including some
of the earliest gold objects ever found in Britain. It was tests on the
enamel of his teeth that revealed he was born and grew up in the Alps
region.
	"Different ratios of oxygen isotopes form on teeth in different
parts of the world and the ratio found on these teeth prove they were from
somebody from the Alps region," said Tony Trueman from Wessex Archaeology.
"It is important proof that culture imported from the continent helped bring
Britain out of the Stone Age," he told Reuters.
	Stonehenge, built between 3,000 and 1,600 B.C, is a ring of 20-tonne
stones on Salisbury Plain and attracts up to one million visitors annually.
Celebrations at the site during the summer solstice -- the longest day of
the year in the northern hemisphere -- attract thousands of revellers,
including the Druids who believe Stonehenge was a sacred temple.
----
-----Original Message-----
From: Ralf Kubli [mailto:ralf.kubli_at_epost.de]
Sent: 06 February 2003 14:50
To: Stefan Marti; Michael Rys
Cc: yapeter_at_stanford.edu; swiss-list_at_swiss-list.com
Subject: swiss-list: AW: Re: swiss-list: RE: swiss-list: NZZ Online:
«Braindrain» aus der Schweiz gibt es nicht
Maybe the Swiss should also consider that foreign brains come to Switzerland
because the situation in academia and research is so much worse in their
countries of origin, rather than Switzerland being so attractive in its
own right.
In addition, the statistical fact that the majority of Swiss brains return
to Switzerland, does not mean that academia and research is the reason for
their return.
Maybe they simply can't survive without the sight of the Alps or something.
 >-- Original Nachricht --
 >Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 14:30:34 -0500 (EST)
 >From: Stefan Marti <stefanm_at_media.mit.edu>
 >To: Michael Rys <mrys_at_microsoft.com>
 >cc: yapeter_at_stanford.edu, <swiss-list_at_swiss-list.com>
 >Subject: Re: swiss-list: RE: swiss-list: NZZ Online: «Braindrain» aus
 >  der Schweiz gibt es nicht
 >
 >
 >
 >I agree completely with Michael.
 >
 >Even more, the article suggests that there is no brain drain because there
 >is no 'overall' (net) drain, due to foreign brains actually immigrating
to
 >Switzerland.
 >
 >That's good--but it doesn't mean that there are no Swiss brain workers
 >leaving Switzerland permanently for whatever reason! IMHO, there is a
 >brain drain going on, and I am not surprised about it.
 >
=================================================================
To unsubscribe from the swiss-list mailing list send the
message body of "unsubscribe swiss-list" to majordomo_at_swiss-list.com
or visit http://www.swiss-list.com/mailing/