The Resources Innovation Center Leoben at the Montanuniversität Leoben has been organizing a conference series called East and South East Europe Dialogue Conferences since 2014. At the end of 2020, the online version of the conference was used to allow various stakeholders in the raw materials sector, as well as experts on the topic of brain drain, to have their say. The article outlines the tension between brain drain and brain circulation and shows possibilities and future steps to initiate cooperation with East and South East Europe and thus contribute to Brain Circulation, the multidirectional flow of manpower and knowledge.