Expanded Summary 

The transition to the market economy of our country, together with various problems, presented the problems in the higher education system at all levels. According to the relevant ratings it is clear that our higher educational institutions, despite some successes achieved in the recent period, are significantly behind the higher educational institutions of the developed countries in the quality of teaching and research, which afterwards is reflected in the level of professionalism of the graduates. However, it is widely known how great is the role of qualified personnel with higher education in raising the overall educational level of the entire society and in the development of the country's economy and social sphere, as well as in overcoming unemployment. Thus, in solving this important task, it is of great importance for our young people to receive education in the world's leading universities in order to use this knowledge in their homeland.

The mentioned task is important but its solution is very difficult, because there is an essential difference between Georgia and developed countries in terms of working conditions and remuneration; Also, we have fewer opportunities in terms of career growth and it prevents the retention of highly qualified staff at homeland (Georgia). Beside this, it should be noted that the so-called the trend of "Brain Drain" is more or less relevant even today, and considering the push and pull factors related to it, it should not be surprising that today, in Georgia, it is big problem to maintain highly qualified personnel trained not only abroad, but also in our country.

It should be noted that currently there is not a single agency (organization) in Georgia that has comprehensive information about persons who went abroad in order to receive a higher education and afterwards returned to their homeland (or stayed there to work), so we decided to conduct a special study. For this purpose, we used the widespread method of mass survey. Our research is based on 115 questionnaires consisting of 42 questions.

The demographic characteristics of the interviewees are important to note. Their age structure shows that 18% of respondents are under 24 years old, 25-29 years old - 33%, 30-34 years old - 24%, and 25% of respondents are over 35 years old, 49% of respondents were men, and 51% were women.

Economists - 26%, financial analysts - 19% and lawyers - 17% represent a high share  of those educated abroad and those who returned to Georgia, while the share of representatives of other professions is small. The fact that the majority of respondents prefer receiving higher economic (financial) and legal education abroad, also indicates that their trust level in local schools of this profile is not so high.

The majority of respondents as the most desirable country for receiving higher education abroad named Germany and its higher educational institutions, while a relatively small number named the USA, Great Britain and France. It is not surprising that Germany is preferred by most of the respondents, because this country represents one of the best scientific and educational centers in the world.

The survey showed that the vast majority of respondents were working and studying at the same time. Among the incentives for starting work they stated: low level of family income, paying school rent, etc. Some started working in order to gain experience, because they were going to continue working in this field in the future. In general, it should be noted that the existence of the opportunity to work in combination with studing is an important benefit and support for those displaced from our middle and low-income families;

The main determining factor for returning to Georgia after completing studies abroad, as stated by the respondents is nostalgia for their home country; The next important factor is the availability of employment opportunities in the homeland. People educated abroad and returned to their homeland, confirm that the majority of them (91%) are employed and only 9% are looking for a job, which is a positive event.

Despite many difficulties, it should be possible to fully account both those who went abroad to study, as well as those who returned to their homeland after receiving a diploma.

In our opinion, it would be appropriate if the border police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which already monitors the legality of border crossings to detect illegal migrants, is instructed to ask those leaving the country to fill out a special questionnaire, which will indicate the country, the profession to be mastered, the name of the training program (if any) and other. When returning, those who left the country for the purpose of education should also be required to fill in a questionnaire that informs us in which country this or that person received their education (indicating their profession).

We think that in order to achieve the mentioned goal, on the one hand, the cooperation of Georgian Education and Science, and on the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia is possible, however, the problem will not be easy to solve.