• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Have a friend who got his PhD in Australia, in neuroscience. He’s got enormous personal debt, his department is chonically underfunded, he has two grad students to his name, and he’s got to spend every semester writing these long winded grant proposals to maintain any kind of budget.

    Then six months ago, a recruiter from Fudan University reaches out to him. Flies him out to Shanghai, wines him and dines him, shows him around the campus, offers him a $1.5M housing allowance plus $500k salary with another $6M in budget and three other PhDs on his team.

    He’s moving there in March.

    • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, even if I was offered that I wouldn’t touch that shit with a 10 foot pole especially if we’re talking about being held captive.

      • nyctre@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        People being held captive is in relation to the Perth-based mining company that the article talks about. The person you’re replying to is talking about a Shanghai-based university. There’s no captivity involved there, afaik.

      • ivanafterall ☑️@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        That’s the “alternative” to captivity. And it’s going to lead to businesses that treat talent like this losing their talent to China. Speaking as someone who has also been contacted by numerous (sketchier than the above referenced) Chinese interests.