America has a serious shortage of STEM human resources.

This will weaken the highly skilled workforce and reduce the capacity for innovation.

The Brain Freeze study, conducted by a group of STEM scientists at US universities, warned that the US risks losing $240-480 billion per year over the next decade if the number of international students in STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology, Mathematics) continues to decline.

The report highlights that tightening visa policies and restrictions on international students under the Trump administration are severely eroding the highly skilled workforce that is the foundation of US innovation, technological growth and global competitiveness.

International students account for 50% of STEM graduate students in the United States. Foreign-born workers currently make up nearly a third of the highly skilled STEM workforce. If this proportion falls by a third, as the report predicts, the U.S. STEM workforce could shrink by at least 6% and by more than 11% at the doctoral level. This would weaken innovation, slow productivity growth, and directly threaten long-term GDP growth.

The study also highlights the outsized contribution of international students to technological innovation. While US-born STEM workers generate an average of three patents per 100 workers each year, the figure for international graduates in the US is eight, or 36% of the total. In addition to directly generating innovations, they also make the entire research ecosystem more dynamic, encouraging their American colleagues to develop new ideas.

Beyond the lab, international students are also helping to foster an entrepreneurial environment. About 20% of venture-backed startups in the US are founded by immigrants, many of whom were international students. By 2025, nearly half of Fortune 500 companies will be founded by immigrants or their children, demonstrating the indispensable role of highly skilled immigrants in the US economy .

Despite warnings from academia and industry, proposals for tightening restrictions such as F-1 visa limits, OPT cuts, and $100,000 H-1B visa fees continue to be considered and enacted. Experts fear that if these policies are widely implemented, they will permanently weaken America’s scientific competitiveness and promote the migration of talent to Canada, Europe, and Asia.

In a knowledge-based global economy, the ability to attract and retain talent is not just a matter of education , but a matter of national strategic advantage. And with losses running into the hundreds of billions of dollars each year, the question is whether America can maintain its scientific and technological leadership if it continues to close its doors to the world.

“The policy of restricting international students has had a profound impact that is not yet fully understood by the American public,” said Professor Michael Clemens, who teaches at George Mason University. “I believe that international students do not displace domestic students. On the contrary, they bring with them an important source of tuition that helps schools expand their training capacity, facilities and create more opportunities for American students.”

According to The PIE

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/my-thieu-tram-trong-nhan-luc-stem-post755677.html