8 - Shifting Scientific Cultures in a Changing Asia

Summary

This chapter introduces the concept of scientific remittances – the informational, reputational and cultural diffusion that occurs as a result of the brain circulation of scientists. The scientific remittances that returning Asian scientists bring back with them include, not just new scientific know-how and new network connections in the global scientific field, but also new norms and values regarding the social practice of scientific training and research. At the same time, this chapter acknowledges that the Asian societies where scientists returned had also undergone change during their time in the West. Partly in response to these societal changes, and their own positionality within their institutions, returnees tended to focus their own change efforts on their labs and classrooms. I highlight four key cultural dimensions where returnees were focusing their change efforts. These were:

1. 1. Encouraging a curiosity-driven approach to scientific learning

2. 2. Raising their students’ research passions and ambitions

3. 3. Leveling attitudes towards rank within their labs

4. 4. Broadening attitudes towards difference.