The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi is encouraging Filipino professionals and foreigners of Filipino descent in the United Arab Emirates to join the Department of Science and Technology’s Balik Scientist Program (DOST-BSP), a long-running government initiative that draws overseas-based Filipino talent back home to share their expertise.
In an advisory addressed “to all Kabayans in the UAE,” the Embassy described the program as one that promotes innovations responding to the needs and aspirations of Filipino communities. Interested applicants were directed to the program’s online registration form and the official DOST-BSP brochure for details on eligibility and the application process.
The Balik Scientist Program traces its origins to 1975, when it was first established under Presidential Decree No. 819. It was institutionalized into law on June 15, 2018, when then-President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11035, also known as the Balik Scientist Act. The law strengthened the program by expanding the incentives and benefits offered to returning Filipino scientists, engineers, inventors, and other experts.
Under the law, applicants must be science, technology, or innovation experts certified by the DOST who are either Filipino citizens or foreigners of Filipino descent, and who are residents of another country or have been based in the Philippines for no more than three years at the time of application. Candidates are also expected to hold a graduate degree and demonstrate an outstanding contribution in their field.
Awardees may take on short-term engagements of 15 days to six months, medium-term engagements of up to one year, or long-term engagements running up to three years. Benefits range from accident and medical insurance and tax-exempt daily allowances to round-trip international airfare, with additional relocation, housing, and transportation incentives for those under long-term engagement.
Priority fields under the program include agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry and natural resources, health technologies, mental health, artificial intelligence and robotics, energy and emerging technologies, and creative industries such as arts, design, and media.
According to the government’s BaLinkBayan portal, the program had recorded 489 overseas Filipino experts awarded Balik Scientist grants as of 2025, some of whom chose to remain in the country beyond their engagement to continue research in Philippine academic and scientific institutions.
The program is administered by the DOST Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Development, together with the agency’s sectoral planning councils. Applications are coursed through the program’s website at bsp.dost.gov.ph, and inquiries may be directed to the DOST-BSP Secretariat at bsp@dost.gov.ph.
