Part 2
"Roots" and family ties
Jonah Tang observed that students from other countries such as Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India return home as they feel a greater sense of belonging.
He thinks that Singaporean students are less patriotic, and feel no sense of "rootedness", so they can "grow roots" anywhere.
But according to the survey by the organising committee of Experiences 2009, many students also said that they wish to return to Singapore three to five years after working overseas, for their families.
For this same reason, Jonah Tang hopes to return after three or four years, provided there are suitable job opportunities.
Li Wanzhen, 20, a first year LSE student, also thinks that in the long run, she will feel lonely and want to return home. But the economic conditions and whether there are attractive job opportunities will be an important consideration.
Qiu Junxiong, 27, who studied in San Francisco, is one of those who returned one year after he graduated. He said that he returned to Singapore because there happened to be a suitable job opening.
He thinks that if one wishes to develop a career in Asia, they should seriously consider returning to Singapore. After all, as Asians, they also have an advantage on their "home turf".
"The government should not be unduly worried about brain drain, more Singaporeans now want to work in Asia instead. They are happy to use Singapore as their base, and will return every few months, instead of staying in Europe or the States for many years."
Government efforts in retaining talent
The government has also invested resources in efforts to connect to overseas Singaporeans. The National Population Secretariat (NPS) set up the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU) in 2006 to help overseas Singaporeans maintain contact with Singapore.
An NPS spokesperson told my paper that with the increasing globalisation, many Singaporeans are choosing to study, work and live abroad. More than 180,000 are now studying or working overseas and 63 per cent of them are between 20 to 54 years old.
Singaporeans go overseas to expand their horizons or gain experience, but whether they maintain contact with Singapore is one of the critical factors that determine whether they return.
They have observed that more Singaporeans have returned in recent years, hoping to ride on Singapore's economic growth. The response to "Singapore Day" organised by OSU in various cities around the world has also become increasingly popular.