Abstract:

Research potential and the capacity to transfer it to society and the productive sectors is an increasingly important factor in the competitiveness of territories and institutions. The availability of talent and advanced infrastructures for the development of innovative activity are fundamental elements for the economic development of a territory.

Although it still has little social impact, all specialists agree that the PhD, as the highest level of higher education that can be achieved in any academic field, provides knowledge and skills that will make the candidate very suitable for the world of work outside the university.

To find out whether the industry structure of the region is retaining the talent of the PhD graduates of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) or whether, on the contrary, it flights away to other regions and countries, the trajectory and activity of 282 PhD profiles that presented their doctoral dissertation at the UMH from 2015 to July 2022 have been analysed.

The conclusions reveal that almost all UMH PhD graduates are active and that year after year there is a growing trend of these PhDs working in other regions of Spain. The predominance of SMEs in Spain in general and in the province of Alicante in particular, generates barriers that are difficult to overcome for the incorporation of PhD graduates into their teams. Finally, despite the increasing efforts being made to encourage self-employment by both the university and the public administration, the study concludes that the percentage of PhDs who decide to start up a business is very low.

Keywords:

Talent retention, territory, employability, higher education.