Formation of Knowledge Networks Through Academic Mobilities: A Study in the Context of Scholarship Programs

Year 2025, Volume: 15 Issue: 3, 637 - 654, 01.12.2025

Süleyman Yıldız , Aydin Balyer

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the status of international knowledge networks formed in higher education through academic mobilities facilitated by scholarship programs; and to investigate the contribution of academic mobilities to researchers’ personal careers and to Türkiye’s scientific development. The research was conducted using a survey design, which is one of the quantitative research patterns. The sample of the study consists of 391 students, researchers, and academics who received scholarships from various institutions and carried out academic mobilities abroad, selected through stratified sampling method. The data of the research were collected through a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as arithmetic mean, frequency, percentage values, Chi-square test, T-test, and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. According to the research results, academic mobilities enable researchers to engage in intensive interaction with researchers in host institutions and in different countries, conducting various scientific activities, and forming long-term friendships and academic connections/knowledge networks with researchers in different countries. Scholarship holders who undertake academic mobility continue to be members of international research networks using their previous connections in the post-scholarship period and gain strong social and cultural capital by utilizing these privileges. The scientific studies conducted by scholarship holders during and after the scholarship period in Türkiye and other countries were presented in the study; these studies were examined according to the variables of the institution where the scholarship was received and the duration of the scholarship. Based on the results obtained, some policy recommendations regarding the implementation of academic mobilities in Türkiye are proposed.

Keywords

Academic Mobility , Social Capital Theory , Knowledge Networks , Scholarship Program

Akademik Hareketlilikler ile Bilgi Ağlarının Oluşumu: Burs Programları Bağlamında Bir İnceleme

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı, burs programlarıyla gerçekleşen akademik hareketlilikler yoluyla yükseköğretim alanında oluşan uluslararası bilgi ağlarının durumunu; akademik hareketliliklerin araştırmacıların kişisel kariyerlerine ve Türkiye’nin bilimsel gelişimine olan katkısını incelemektir. Araştırma, nicel araştırma desenlerinden tarama deseni ile yürütülmüştür. Çalışmanın örneklemi tabakalı örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilmiştir. Veriler anket ile toplanmış ve aritmetik ortalama, frekans, yüzde değerleri gibi betimsel istatistikler, Ki-kare testi ve Tek Yönlü Varyans Analizi (ANOVA) ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, akademik hareketlilikler, araştırmacıların ev sahibi kurumlarda ve farklı ülkelerdeki araştırmacılarla yoğun etkileşime girerek birçok bilimsel faaliyet gerçekleştirmesini, farklı ülkelerdeki araştırmacılarla uzun süreli dostluklar ve akademik bağlantılar/bilgi ağları oluşturmalarını sağlamaktadır. Burs alarak akademik hareketlilik gerçekleştiren bursiyerler, burs programından sonraki süreçlerde daha önceki bağlantılarını kullanarak uluslararası araştırma ağlarının üyesi olmayı sürdürmekte ve bu ayrıcalıklarını kullanarak güçlü sosyal ve kültürel sermaye edinmektedir. Çalışmada bursiyerlerin burs esnasında ve burstan sonra Türkiye’de ve diğer ülkelerde yaptığı bilimsel çalışmalar ortaya konulmuş; bu çalışmalar burs alınan kurum ve burs süresi değişkenlerine göre incelenmiştir. Ulaşılan sonuçlara dayalı olarak Türkiye’de akademik hareketliliklerin yürütülmesiyle ilgili bazı politika düzenlemeleri önerilmiştir.

Keywords

Akademik Hareketlilik , Sosyal Sermaye Kuramı , Bilgi Ağları , Burs Programı

References

• Ackers, L. (2005). Moving people and knowledge: Scientific mobility in the European Union1. International Migration, 43(5), 99-131.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2005.00343.x
• Ackers, L. (2010). Internationalisation and equality: The contribution of short stay mobility to progression in science career. Recherches Sociologiques et Anthropologiques, 41(1), 83–103. https://doi.org/10.4000/rsa.189
• Akçiğit, U. & Özcan-Tok, E. (2020). Türkiye bilim raporu (Rapor No. 43). TÜBA Raporları.
• Alemu, S. (2020). Transnational mobility of academics: Some academic impacts. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 10(2), 7–10. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1258231.pdf
• Aybar, D. H. (2016). Erasmus hareketlilik programının Türk kamu üniversitelerinin uluslararasılaşma sürecine etkisi: Akdeniz Üniversitesi örneği. (Yayın No.440603) [Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Akdeniz Üniversitesi]. YÖK Ulusal Tez Merkezi.
• Aysu Köksal, Y. (2021). Mutluluk ekonomisi ve beyin göçü: Türkiye örneği. (Yayın No.671442) [Doktora Tezi, Aydın Adnan Menderes Üniversitesi]. YÖK Ulusal Tez Merkezi.
• Azoulay, P., Ganguli, I. & Zivin, J. G. (2017). The mobility of elite life scientists: Professional and personal determinants. Research Policy, 46(3), 573–590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.01.002
• Balyer, A. & Özcan, K. (2022). Eğitim ve araştırma amaçlı gerçekleştirilen uluslararası akademik hareketliliğin katkısına dair akademisyen görüşleri. Journal of Qualitative Research in Education, 31, 140-158. https://doi.org/10.14689/enad.31.1606
• Bauder, H. (2015). The international mobility of academics: A labour market perspective. International Migration, 53(1), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00783.x
• Bourdieu, P. (1988). Homo academicus. Stanford University Press.
• Bourdieu, P. & Wacquant, L. J. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. University of Chicago Press.
• Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş. & Demirel, F. (2014). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri. Pegem Akademi.
• Chellaraj, G., Maskus, K. E. & Mattoo, A. (2005). The contribution of skilled immigration and international graduate students to US innovation (Vol. 3588). World Bank Publications.
• Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. PEARSON.
• De Filippo, D., Casado, E. S. & Gómez, I. (2009). Quantitative and qualitative approaches to the study of mobility and scientific performance: A case study of a Spanish university. Research evaluation, 18(3), 191-200.
• Dika, S. L. & Singh, K. (2002). Applications of social capital in educational literature: A critical synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 72(1), 31–60. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543072001031
• Guth, J. & Gill, B. (2008). Motivations in East–West doctoral mobility: Revisiting the question of brain drain. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 34(5), 825-841. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830802106119
• Henseler, M. & Plesch, J. (2009). How can scholarship institutions foster the return of foreign students?. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, 229(4), 382-409. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2009-0403
• Jacob, M. & Meek, V.L. (2013). Scientific mobility and international research networks: Trends and policy tools for promoting research excellence and capacity building. Studies in Higher Education, 38(3), 331-344. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.773789
• Jöns, H. (2008). Academic travel from Cambridge University and the formation of centres of knowledge. Journal of Historical Geography, 34(2), 338-362.
• Jöns, H. (2009). Brain circulation and transnational knowledge networks: Studying long-term effects of academic mobility to Germany, 1954–2000. Global Networks, 9(3), 315-338. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2009.00256.x
• Kim, S. (2018). Voluntarily exiled? Korean state’s cultural politics of young adults’ social belonging and Korean students’ exile to a US community college. Higher Education, 76(2), 353–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0212-3
• Kim, E. & Díaz, J. (2013). Immigrant students and higher education. ASHE Higher Education Report 38, 6. https://dokumen.pub/immigrant-students-and-higher-education-ashe-higher-education-report-386-1nbsped-9781118673089-9781118614150.html
• Köşer-Akçapar, Ş. (2009). Turkish Highly Skilled Migration to the United States: New Findings and Policy Recommendations. (MiReKoc Research Program) Koç University. https://www.academia.edu/35401659/TURKISH_HIGHLY_SKILLED_MIGRATION_TO_THE_UNITED_STATES_NEW_FINDINGS_AND_POLICY_RECOMMENDATIONS
• Netz, N. & Jaksztat, S. (2014). Mobilised by mobility? Determinants of international mobility plans among doctoral candidates in Germany. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, 11, 35–59. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-362820140000011009
• Rostovskaya, T. K., Skorobogatova, V. I., Pismennaya, E. E. & Bezverbny, V. A. (2020). Incoming and outgoing academic mobility in Russia and abroad: Main trends, administrative challenges. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. 41(1), 154-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2020-0091
• Rozhenkova, V. (2021). Addressing Brain Drain: Institutional and National Dimensions. Wiseman, A. W. (Ed.), Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2020 (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 40), (s. 197-214) içinde. Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920210000040012
• Sancho, D. (2017). Escaping India’s culture of education: Migration desires among aspiring middle-class young men. Ethnography, 18(4), 515–534. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466138116687591
• Siekierski, P., Lima, M. C. & Borini, F. M. (2018). International mobility of academics: Brain drain and brain gain. European Management Review, 15(3), 329–339. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12170
• Taşçı, G. (2022). Bridges to the future: Mobility experiences of early-career researchers. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 7(1), 162-207. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1010307
• Teichler, U. (2015). Academic mobility and migration: What we know and what we do not know. European Review, 23(2), S6–S37. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1062798714000787
• TÜBİTAK. (2024, Şubat 21). Geçmiş dönem verileri. Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu. https://www.tubitak.gov.tr/tr/burslar/lisansustu/arastirma-burs-programlari/2214-a/icerik-gecmis-donem-verileri adresinden 21 Şubat 2024 tarihinde alınmıştır.
• Waters, J. L. (2009). Transnational geographies of academic distinction: The role of social capital in the recognition and evaluation of overseas credentials. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 7(2), 113-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767720902907895
• Woolley, R., Turpin, T., Marceau, J. & Hill, S. (2008). Mobility matters: Research training and network building in science. Comparative Technology Transfer and Society, 6(3), 159-186. https://doi.org/10.1353/ctt.0.0014
• Yang, P. (2016). International mobility and educational desire: Chinese foreign talent students in Singapore. Springer.
• Yıldız, S. & Balyer, A. (2024, Mayıs). Türkiye’de akademik hareketlilikle ilgili araştırmalar: Araştırma gündemleri ve gelecekteki araştırmalar. 10. International Eurasian Educational Research Congress (EJER), Kocaeli, Türkiye.