The “smartest minds” in the United States will be beckoned to Australia with a new talent program aiming to capitalise on academics disfranchised by the Trump administration’s research cuts. The Australian Academy of Science announced the global talent attraction program on Thursday, warning the nation needed to “act swiftly” to capitalise on the opportunity. The academy’s president, Prof Chennupati Jagadish AC, said in a statement that Australia had an “urgent and unparalleled opportunity to attract the smartest minds leaving the United States”. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter “There is no time to waste as other countries have already recognised the opportunity and are mobilising to attract talent to their shores,” he said. Researchers, faculty and leadership at US universities and colleges have been grappling with the effects of the Trump administration’s funding freezes, cuts and executive orders. Donald Trump’s federal congressional budget proposes billions of dollars in federal funding cuts across higher education, including capping all “indirect funding” from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – the world’s largest funder of scientific research – at 15%. Immediately in the crosshairs is Harvard University. Trump this week said that the Ivy League institution should no longer receive federal funds after it rejected a series of the adminstration’s demands, which the university’s president described as “an attempt to control the Harvard community”. Efforts to slash government spending have also left thousands of employees at major scientific institutions, including Nasa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, bracing for layoffs. In response, several European universities, such as Aix-Marseille University in France and Free University Brussels, have set up initiatives to provide a haven to “the biggest victims of this political and ideological interference”. The Australian program is inviting contributions from funders, which Jagadish said would go towards leading a “national, coordinated effort” to promote the destination to leading US scientists and returning Australians through a “competitive relocation package”. Jagadish said the program would be “institution- and discipline-agnostic”. “This allows the academy to prioritise excellence and focus on areas of national need when attracting talent to our shores,” he said. “Australians have repeatedly witnessed the multiplier effect of embedding smart minds within the Australian R&D [research and development] system. “These individuals seed capability, create jobs, attract further investment, mentor young scientists, stimulate collaboration, contribute to the national economy and shape our future.” Danielle Cave, the head of executive, strategy and research at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, also pointed to the “enormous opportunity” of the Trump administration’s research crackdown. Writing in Nine newspapers last month, she said if the federal government acted quickly, the changes could represent a “once-in-a-century brain gain opportunity”. “We should attract some of our best and brightest back home from places such as Silicon Valley while also offering fast-track visas to top US-based scientists and researchers who are newly out of a job or low on the funding,” she wrote. “As public funding into universities declines and US universities reduce PhD admissions, top Chinese universities are already proactively recruiting overseas students, allowing undergraduates to skip traditional pathways to fill up PhD programs in areas such as mathematics, engineering, computer science and environmental science. “Minister for home affairs Tony Burke should work with parliamentary colleagues and his department to quickly explore options to expand and fast-track visas.” Australia has not been immune to the impact of Trump’s policy changes. At least seven universities have had research programs temporarily suspended, and a dozen universities were sent a questionnaire from the Trump administration asking to confirm whether they aligned with US government interests.
Author: Caitlin Cassidy