Brain drain has historically been a problem for Latin America and the Caribbean, with professionals moving to developed countries or other nations in the same region. It occurs among professional who trained in their countries of origin and among students who, after specialized studies in a foreign country, decide to stay abroad because the job opportunities and potential for academic and professional growth are better. In response, countries have adopted various strategies to retain highly skilled professionals or attract them back, and have deployed networks to link researchers from the region living abroad with their peers in countries of origin. This panel will discuss the potential of highly trained human capital residing abroad and how these people can enrich the scientific and technological assets of their countries of origin and of the region as a whole. An effort will also be made, on the basis of some national initiatives, to identify areas for collaboration –especially through exchanges and mobility of scientists and researchers— that would enable the countries and the region to strengthen their capacity to respond to the disruptive changes that are affecting the world.