Mobility in the academic careers at the Flemish universities: Results from the Human Resources in Research database

Worldwide mobility of researchers is generally correlated with an enhancement of the continuous interchange of ideas and is therefore highly stimulated. Flemish universities have occasionally been criticized for providing limited career opportunities for foreign researchers. However, presently no reliable data is available on researchers' mobility in Flanders. For the five Flemish universities a full dataset is available at the ECOOM Centre for R&D Monitoring, containing all academic appointments and PhD's awarded since 1990-1991. This dataset allows for prospective analyses within the Flemish university system as well as retrospective analyses and provides information on international and interuniversity recruitment and academic inbreeding. The present results confirm that the academic system in Flanders is indeed recognized by a tradition of internal recruitment. However specific differences between the universities and the scientific disciplines are observed calling for a more complex study of researchers' mobility and of the relationship between mobility and research excellence. (Author)