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In a 2017 survey of 1,286 Fellows and grant recipients from four UK national academies, 95% of respondents said they had taken part in at least one international collaboration in the previous five years, and 58% had spent at least a year working abroad. Those findings show how international work featured in this group’s research careers; they do not represent every researcher or prove that mobility improves research performance.
What the 2017 survey measured
The UK National Academies commissioned Opinion Leader to ask academy Fellows and grant recipients about their international experiences. The four participating bodies were the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. The sample comprised 762 Fellows and 524 grant recipients, for a total of 1,286 people. The Royal Society’s survey summary presents the headline findings; Chemistry World’s 4 May 2017 report describes the survey and its participating academies.
This was a survey of people connected to the academies, not a representative poll of researchers in the UK, worldwide, or across every discipline and career stage. Its percentages describe the respondents’ reported experiences.
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In the survey, 95% of respondents reported at least one international collaboration in the previous five years. Separately, 58% said they had spent a year or more working abroad. Among those with a year-plus stay abroad, 64% had spent that time in North America.
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Europe was the most commonly reported continent for both travel and collaboration: 95% said they had travelled there and 87% said they had collaborated there. These figures describe destinations in the survey, not the share of all global research activity taking place in those regions. The survey summary also says 77% considered international collaboration more common than it had been 20 years earlier.
Why researchers move or collaborate internationally
International work can connect researchers with expertise, data, infrastructure and resources that are not readily available in their home institution. It can also expose them to new perspectives and help them build professional relationships. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) describes these as potential benefits in its Global mobility evidence report 2024, published on 24 February 2025. The report synthesizes evidence published from 2010 to 2024 and notes that both short trips and longer periods abroad are common, serving different purposes.
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UKRI summarizes findings from the European Commission’s MORE4 study, which asked EU28 researchers in 2019 about the effects of their mobility experience. The following percentages are respondents who said mobility increased or strongly increased each area:
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| Reported effect | Share |
|---|---|
| International contacts or network | 83% |
| Advanced research skills | 77% |
| Recognition in the research community | 73% |
| Quality of research output | 72% |
| Overall career progression | 71% |
These are self-reported effects, not a controlled estimate of what mobility alone caused. UKRI cautions that definitions of mobility vary, studies differ in strength, and quantitatively measuring mobility’s impact on research performance is difficult.
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Motives differ by career stage
In the MORE4 findings summarized by UKRI, post-PhD researchers moving within the EU most commonly cited professional and career-related motives:
- International networking: 87%
- Research autonomy: 85%
- Working with leading scientists: 83%
- Career progression: 81%
- Access to research facilities and equipment: 74%
For PhD mobility within the EU, the leading motives put funding and the availability of a position near the top:
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- Availability of research funding: 80%
- Suitable PhD positions: 78%
- International networking: 75%
- Working with leading scientists: 74%
- Research autonomy: 73%
These results are specific to the study’s EU mobility context; they should not be treated as universal rankings for researchers in other regions or circumstances.
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Mobility is not simply a matter of deciding whether to leave. UKRI’s evidence review identifies funding, access to suitable positions, visa costs and processing times, and personal or family circumstances as recurring constraints. The 2017 academies survey also found that 22% of respondents said ease of obtaining a visa influenced their choice of collaborator. A visa can therefore affect collaboration even when a researcher is not relocating for an extended period.
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As Venki Ramakrishnan, then president of the Royal Society, said in the 2017 report: “We must work hard to keep barriers for incoming and outgoing researchers and their dependents at a minimum, so that ideas can grow across borders.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to assess a mobility opportunity
Short visits, longer placements and sustained work abroad can support different aims. Rather than treating mobility as a single choice, compare the opportunity against the researcher’s goals and constraints:
- Duration: Is a short visit enough for the collaboration, or does the work require a longer stay?
- Career stage: Does the opportunity address a need for training, independence, career development or a suitable doctoral position?
- Research fit: Does the destination offer relevant expertise, collaborators, data, facilities or equipment?
- Funding and position: Is the work funded, and is there a suitable role or placement?
- Administration: What visa requirements, costs and processing times apply to the researcher and any dependents?
- Personal circumstances: How would relocation or travel affect family responsibilities and other commitments?
UKRI notes that studies define mobility and select populations differently, so these factors are a practical way to compare opportunities, not a universal formula for deciding who should move.
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