Can Smaller Indiana stop brain drain?

[Pat Coyle]

Can Smaller Indiana help stop the brightest minds from leaving Indiana after graduation? Or perhaps lure them back after they've been gone?

I say yes, and here's why:

When you see an especially inventive or creative person here, stop for a second and think about the role his or her alma mater may have played in these skills. Every graduate is a living advertisement for his / her alma mater. Smaller Indiana helps put people and schools in their best light.

And imagine a current undergrad having a place (like SI) to express her / himself amongst the working, professional world. A dialogue at this stage could lead to a job opportunity in short order. And when that happens, we stop brain drain before it starts!

Look at all the groups forming here around colleges and universites. These groups are comprised of graduates, professors and even some enterprising undergrads. These are "small worlds" amongst the larger (Smaller) community.

So what do you think?

[Douglas Karr]

At 18, I left my home in Phoenix, Az to join the Navy (cliche, I'm sure). I know that people speak to the number of 'graduates' that leave the state, classified as the 'brain drain'. I'm not so sure that every other state doesn't have the same problem, though. Early adulthood is when we want to get out and see the world... the question is whether we come back home. I've noticed that many, many executives I meet here in Indianapolis grew up here. They'll often speak to their time on the East Coast or West Coast... and then returning to their midwest roots. I guess my comment is, "Is it really a brain drain or do we get these folks back?" Students that don't start in Indiana but come here for school are a tough group to keep - their roots and experiences lie beyond Indiana anyways. Just a thought.

[R. Brennan Knotts]

I think it'd be hard to disagree with your line of thinking here. The Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship (aka Orr Fellowship) has used a similar model to fulfill its mission of reducing brain drain - recruit an elite class of Indiana's 'best and brightest' graduates each year, put them in a small "community" much like a fraternity or a sorority which has professional as well as social/friendship benefits, and then give them some of the coolest jobs at some of Indiana's fastest growing, most exciting companies.

The keys to the Orr Fellowship's success seem to be the camaraderie of the group, driven by the mutual admiration each Orr Fellow has for the others' accomplishments and ambition, and then the attractiveness of the job - in that order. I'm sure there is a lesson for the state to be learned here since the challenges the Orr Fellowship faces in recruiting elite graduates to its ranks can be seen as a microcosm of the state's larger challenges of recruiting graduates to stay within its borders.

Similarly, I believe SI will succeed in reducing brain drain if it really can create an exclusive group of creative and innovative individuals and then make it easier for undergraduates to find unique job opportunities in the state (like working for a startup that someone in the SI community is building).

P.S. IndianaEntrepreneur.TV has some videos about the challenges Indiana faces, brain drain, and the Orr Fellowship. Hopefully, I can find a way to post these on Smaller Indiana.

[Pat Coyle]

Brennan, should we be talking directly to the Orr folks? Can you hook me up with an intro?

And Yes. We want those videos here. You should be able to use the video tool. Let me know if you have problems.

[Douglas Karr]

I was able to do a little hacking and embed the videos from IndianaEntrepreneur.TV and get them in on the Videos Tab if someone wants to see them!

[Mark Bucherl]

I invited Pam Norman into the group for the express purpose of informing this topic! Her note to me:

Indiana brain drain is definitely an interest I share with you. I agree that the "boomarangs" are another population that should be targeted as part of talent retention efforts and would be interested in joining your discussion group. I'll look forward to your invitation to join the next discussion.

Indiana INTERNnet has recently taken on a new business model as we move from 100% Lilly Endowment funding to shared funding provided by the state, universities and employers. So, registering employers under this new fee-for-service model is of great priority for me and is keeping me and my staff busy especially now as we are in internship search season for students and employers.

[Mark Bucherl]

The time horizon for measuring the so-called brain drain is too short! What happens often (but I haven't seen measured yet) is that college graduates move to "exciting" geographies, near beaches, mountains and away from "fly-over" country such as Indiana.

However, with maturity and the topic of raising families, the stability, and values-based history Indiana-native business people brought with them from their childhood informs many and they move back!

I had this discussion with Pam Norman, Executive Director of Indiana Intern.net a couple years ago. We were talking about how she measured the success of her organization, and keeping students in state was (and still is) a priority measurement for them. At that time, I had recently attended a VC meeting where this exact scenario had played out for a hot-shot Silicon Valley exec who decided to return, and raise his family back home...again in Indiana!

So, to sum it all up: let them go, and keep the network open -- especially the burgeoning web social network! We older family guys all know there's more than corn in Indiana.

I'll list more Indiana-centric songs and themes later...as the muse strikes... mb

[Noah Coffey]

I remember my last couple years in college thinking I would definitely leave the state because it just seemed like more job opportunities were elsewhere. I had professors in the New Media department telling me that (at the time) graduates were taking around 6-8 months to find a job (which really scared me at the time). I later found that to be off quite a bit as I found a job my first month out of college and stayed in Indiana.

My perspective has really changed since I've been married, bought a house, and started paying much more attention to local politics and such. Cost of living is great in this state. Combine that with our state's desire to bend over backwards to bring in tech and biotech companies to Indiana.

I think Indiana is the perfect place for a tech startup for even more reasons that I don't have time to explore here.

[David Grigsby]

Excellent idea Mr. Coyle - one with which I totally agree. The larger venues for this type of discussion are places where the voices of new graduates become lost among the throng. This venue may well be the spark necessary to light the fires for many in our area. I personally committed to inviting three faculty from U of I that I believe could contribute greatly to the discussion, and I plan to add more voices when I resume classes next week (I am a 37 year old senior at U of I). Opportunities for graduates in central Indiana are good and are getting better. I am pleased to reside here, and to be part of this dialogue.

[Chris Lucas]

Good post/question. I grew up in Wisconsin and went to Purdue on a whim. I moved away to San Francisco and came back (basically on a whim as well). About the time I came back was when the Brain Drain question seemed to be at its peak, right before Mitch Daniels was elected Governor (so the race was largely based on how to help the economy stop the drain etc). I was scared nervous to the types of jobs/opportunities here...I have to say it was rough, especially when you are young, just starting out. You really, really have to dig (if you don't want to work as a sales rep for a logistics co or other big Co) to find young, small companies that will be rewarding. Now that I have been here a few years and have a lay of the land I see new tech companies almost every day - but only after years of busting my tail to find them.

So, all that being said, I think there is a problem for young kids coming out of school finding these types of opportunities. I think interacting with the college students (I have gone back to Purdue to speak to the CLA students and plan to again this year) and discussing what opportunities are available locally is crucial, I know that when I was coming out of Purdue I didn't even consider Indy/Indiana because I didn't know anything other than Lilly (especially because I was out of state). I think Smaller Indiana can help, but it is going to take more young professionals getting involved and helping promote the site (Maybe creating a SMI for College students, where they can network with professional in their field) or creating other opportunities will help this site have a bigger impact on outgoing college students.

Also, as I reread this - I am not saying that there is anything wrong working with larger companies, Lilly etc., I am just saying finding other opportunities is tough, and that is where I can see SMI helping - hope that makes sense

[Pat Coyle]

One thing we can do is add the Smaller Indiana badges to our sites.

We're trying to build a BRAND here with Smaller Indiana.

The brand is about the people in the community. What inspires us and (in fact) how we treat other people...if we're willing to engage with undergrads to try to help, then we need to let them know about it.

Personally, I love connecting people with opportunities. Also, I'd like to see us try to support home based businesses so that parents who choose to can stay home with their young kids and keep the kids out of day care. Technology can help make that a reality.

[Grant Z Price]

Yeah, Pat, you'll be on Inside Indiana soon enough with this concept. Don't forget to take me with you to help explain why this site is important. thanks.

[Kyle Lacy]

I second that. I want a glamor shot on Inside Indiana with Gary Who?