Scientific Mobility, Independence, and Science Diplomacy

For many early-career researchers, scientific mobility has become a necessity. Moving to a new country or laboratory can foster independence, broaden perspectives, and open new lines of research. Mobility often encourages independent thinking, but it may also make it more difficult to demonstrate individual success.

Mobility is not a fast track  

Moving to a new country or institution comes with significant overhead. Researchers navigate unfamiliar administrative systems, funding structures, safety regulations, visa processes, and academic cultures while also learning new equipment and research topics. Scientific questions may be universal, but laboratories function as distinct social and technical ecosystems. In this fast-growing, often infrastructure-heavy field, workflows and tacit operational know-how are tightly coupled, so even small timing or planning mismatches around a move can cost months of momentum.

Knowledge travels with people

These challenges highlight an important reality: much of the most valuable knowledge in advanced research is not fully documented in publications. Scientific publishing communicates results but seldom includes failed experiments or the reasoning that led to experimental choices. Practical judgment, experimental insight, and troubleshooting skills are often transferred through direct interaction. Reading literature and working in isolation is rarely sufficient to reproduce or advance complex experiments. In this sense, early-career researchers resemble traders along the Silk Road. These traders exchanged not only goods but also techniques, norms, and contextual knowledge. Similarly, today’s mobile researchers exchange more than methods or results. They transfer practices across countries, adapt to new scientific cultures, and help ideas take root in new contexts. This form of exchange closely mirrors science diplomacy at an individual level.

Funding structures vary

Funding structures shape how mobility operates. In Europe, including Switzerland, programs such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions embed mobility into career development, explicitly rewarding international experience.

In Japan, programs such as the JSPS Standard Postdoctoral Fellowship emphasise host-driven collaboration, with alumni networks that help sustain scientific connections beyond the fellowship period. From my own JSPS experience, the fellowship created real space for independence through resources, a supportive host environment, and time to shape my research direction. The main challenge was the logistics of moving and settling into a new country, but with institutional support and clear guidance, it became less of a barrier and more of an opportunity to learn a new system. In the end, it gave me a different perspective and an opportunity for integration that extended well beyond science.

In the United States, early-career researchers often build independence through PI- and project-centered funding, while many individual fellowship programs (including several NSF postdoctoral programs) are restricted to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Mobility fellowships create real opportunities, but mismatched eligibility rules and career timelines across countries can make them harder to integrate into longer pathways toward independence.

Mobility and science diplomacy

The term early-career researcher encompasses a broad range, from doctoral students to junior faculty, yet the timeframe for benefiting from these opportunities is limited, so the hidden workload of mobility should be acknowledged. Beyond individual training, mobility translates research cultures and laboratory norms, improves communication and coordination in cross-border collaborations, and enables knowledge to circulate across disciplines. Scientific mobility is most valuable for the circulation of ideas and scientific culture, thereby promoting progress and supporting science diplomacy across borders.

Resources:

Science Diplomacy Grid: https://www.sciencediplomacygrid.org/learning-pods/building-science-diplomacy-in-response-to-and-in-spite-of-policy

MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships: https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/postdoctoral-fellowships

SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation) - SNSF Postdoc Mobility: https://www.snf.ch/en/XIZpfY3iVS5KRRoD/funding/careers/postdoc-mobility

JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) - JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan: https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/e-ippan/index.html

NWO (Dutch research council) - NWO Rubicon program: https://www.nwo.nl/en/researchprogrammes/rubicon

DAAD PRIME (Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience): https://www.daad.de/en/studying-in-germany/scholarships/daad-funding-programmes/prime/