Paper short abstract:

A prominent topic in the debate of migration stresses the brain drain effect, ie the leaving of qualified professionals. Their return process has, however, been a neglected topic. My paper will highlight the experiences of Ghanaian returnees who studied in Germany during the 20th century.

Paper long abstract:

A prominent topic in the debate of migration often stresses the brain drain effect, i.e. the leaving of qualified professionals and the problem that their skills are missing for the development of the their country. The coming back - return process of qualified professionals has however been a neglected topic in the field of migration studies. My paper will highlight the experiences of Ghanaian educational returnees who have studied in Germany during the second half of the twentieth century. My focus lies on the narratives of the motivations for returning as well as on the descriptions of the individual return process. Thus, I will show that remigration processes are individual-biographical, socially, culturally as well as historically embedded transitions.