Elite Returnees Discuss Lost Human Capital in Tech Development Path

At INOTEX 2025, a panel titled “Return of Elites: Lost Human Capital in Technology Development” featured three Iranian specialists who returned home, sharing insights on motivations and challenges.
    
On May 1, 2025, during the INOTEX 2025 exhibition in Tehran, a panel discussion titled “Return of Elites: Lost Human Capital in Technology Development” was held, featuring prominent Iranian returnees. The panelists included Seyed Mir Abolhasan Vaezi (MIT and Stanford graduate, professor at Sharif University of Technology), Mohammad Shokouhi Yekta (Stanford graduate, AI specialist at Snap), Atefeh Alipour (researcher at Japan’s Biomedical Research Center and faculty member in nanobiotechnology), and Dr. Ali Hosseini (Deputy of the International Science and Technology Interactions Center and Connect Platform manager).

Atefeh Alipour, reflecting on her experience in Japan, highlighted benefits like rule of law and workplace discipline but cited family ties in the Middle East as her primary reason for returning. She noted vast opportunities in Iran for those seeking influence or entrepreneurship due to untapped potential, though she pointed to managerial challenges at mid and operational levels, urging for accountable and reformed systems. Alipour also criticized the lack of process discipline as a barrier to industrial growth and the diminished respect for academics and entrepreneurs, advising students to experience life abroad for perspective before returning with enriched knowledge.

Seyed Mir Abolhasan Vaezi attributed his return to familial bonds and patriotism despite ideal conditions abroad, but lamented a lack of meritocracy in Iran’s system, stating his quantum expertise from Stanford remained unused. He stressed the need for mutual commitment between specialists and the system, warning that without merit-based frameworks, progress remains elusive, as inefficiencies often serve vested interests. Vaezi saw more hope in the private sector, driven by profit-loss logic, compared to systemic inefficiencies in public institutions like the Ministry of Science.