China’s foreign scientist recruitment strategy under fire from German physicist

China’s programme for recruiting foreign scientists has come under scrutiny, sparked by a German physicist who claimed funds due to him were diverted and fraud committed.

According to a report in the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in 2011 theoretical physicist Ulf Leonhardt received an offer from the Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research (COER) at South China Normal University (SCNU).

It invited him to spend three months a year there, during which it would pay him a monthly salary of 133,333 Yuan (£13.6k), three times greater than at his tenured position at the University of St Andrews in the UK.

To supplement his COER salary, he applied to two government programmes designed to attract foreign talent with the assistance of his new colleagues – the Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts and the Guangdong Province Leading Talent award.

After just one summer in his position, he bailed out of the contract, claiming a significant portion of the funds due to him and his partner, who had also been offered a job at the centre, were being siphoned off for other uses.

He hired lawyers to investigate. Among things they discovered were incorrectly translated agreements and covert purchases of equipment at COER.

“The fraud they committed was so brazen,” Leonhardt told the journal Science.

COER representatives deny Leonhardt’s claim.

Some other scholars recruited in the same way and spoken to by the publication shared Leonhardt’s misgivings, while there were also others who had a much more positive experience.

– See more at: http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/2014/11/chinas-foreign-scientist-recruitment-strategy-under-fire-from-german-physicist/#sthash.c0SzYSzg.dpuf

To see the original report, click here.

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