Virtual Migration Intention and Its Driving Factors among Shiraz University Students

Introduction
Virtual migration refers to a situation in which individuals, despite remaining in their country of origin, engage in scientific, economic, or social collaboration with a destination country through digital spaces and transnational communications. Social media platforms have the capacity to create strong virtual communities. Under conditions of relative deprivation, the likelihood of deciding to migrate increases. Relative deprivation refers to a situation in which society is unable to fully meet individuals’ needs and expectations, leading to a significant perceived gap between desired goals and available opportunities. Alongside feelings of relative deprivation, one of the key factors that can facilitate the emergence of virtual migration is individuals’ level of digital literacy. Understanding and effective use of communication technologies require a certain level of digital literacy, a concept that refers to the ability to use technological tools consciously, critically, and creatively to access, produce, and exchange information. In recent years, a growing tendency toward virtual migration appears to be emerging among the educated population, particularly graduate students. Given the existing limitations and difficulties associated with physical migration, it can be anticipated that this form of migration will expand further in the future. Accordingly, the main objective of the present study was to identify the level of tendency toward virtual migration among graduate students at Shiraz University and to examine the factors associated with it.
Method
The present quantitative study was conducted using a survey method. The statistical population consisted of all graduate students at Shiraz University during the 2024-2025 academic year. The sample size was estimated at 376 participants using Cochran’s formula. A mixed sampling strategy, combining proportionate stratified sampling and systematic random sampling, was employed. In the first step, faculties were classified into three strata: the Faculty of Sciences, the Engineering Schools, and the Schools of Humanities. In addition to the Faculty of Sciences, the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, and Gas from the Engineering Schools, and the Faculties of Literature, Law, and Political Science from the Schools of Humanities were randomly selected. Subsequently, using proportionate stratified sampling and considering the total number of students in the selected faculties, the number of subsamples for each faculty was determined. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire developed based on a review of the theoretical literature and previous studies. Validity and reliability were assessed and confirmed through face validity and Cronbach’s alpha, respectively. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 27).
Findings
Approximately 53% of the students were female. About 59% of the sample were aged between 23 and 27 years. Nearly 90% of the respondents were single, and the majority were enrolled in master’s degree programs. In addition, most of the surveyed students were Persian-speaking, Shiite, unemployed, and self-identified as belonging to the middle social class. Approximately one-third of the students had experience of traveling abroad. More than 89% of respondents reported that none of their family members had a history of migration, while 77.1% indicated having one or more migrants among their friends or acquaintances. About two-thirds of the participants reported having contact with individuals living abroad. Furthermore, 15.7% of the sample reported experience of scientific collaboration with individuals residing abroad. Only 8.2% had participated in international conferences in person, whereas 35.1% reported experience of virtual participation in such events. Only 14.4% of the students held a valid foreign language certificate. Regarding the use of academic social networks, the highest frequency corresponded to a moderate level of use. For the variable of perceived relative deprivation, more than half of the respondents reported a moderate level. Similarly, the level of digital literacy among respondents was predominantly moderate. Ultimately, the tendency toward virtual migration among students was most commonly observed at a moderate level. The results of regression analysis indicated that digital literacy, perceived relative deprivation, and use of academic social networks had positive and statistically significant effects on the tendency toward virtual migration. In contrast, doctoral students exhibited a lower tendency toward virtual migration compared to master’s students.
Conclusion
When students and academic elites, through online scholarly interactions, make a substantial share of their research capacity, ideas, and scientific outputs available to foreign institutions and groups, a significant portion of human value added is effectively detached from the domestic scientific system, without this process being identifiable, manageable, or compensable within the framework of actual migration. This silent outflow of intellectual capital may lead to reduced elite participation in national projects, a decline in domestic innovation, weakened reproduction of specialized human resources, and diminished competitiveness of universities and research institutions at the international level. From this perspective, virtual migration, while potentially serving as a tool for retaining elites within the country, may in the absence of appropriate policies, result in the erosion of human capital and the weakening of national scientific foundations. In contexts such as Iran, where barriers to physical migration are substantial, the internet functions as a reinforcing substitute for physical migration; however, in societies with high mobility opportunities, it may exert a mitigating effect. In light of the findings, it is recommended that policymakers pursue their interventions according to the following priorities: first, enhancing digital literacy and expanding digital training programs within universities; second, strengthening international scientific communication infrastructures and providing sustainable platforms for online collaboration; and third, creating joint research opportunities with foreign academic centers. Such an approach can help channel the tendency toward virtual migration in ways that align with the country’s scientific and national interests. Initiatives such as establishing university-based platforms for remote international collaboration, or supporting participation in global virtual conferences, can, rather than intensifying aspirations for physical exit, contribute to improving academic quality and fostering global academic engagement within the domestic context.