There have been a small number of highly sought-after scholars who have functioned this way for many years. Countries advertise worldwide for faculty, for expertise in key areas, to work on short-term contracts, such as, in Australia and the Middle East. Universities in the United States recruit worldwide too. We can expect that the mobility of scholars will increase in the years ahead, with both positive and negative outcomes for universities. Another interesting transformation derived from partnerships is that jobs are beginning to move to people, not the people to jobs.
People can now work over the Internet.
Many companies in the United States depend on software support from a myriad of small firms in India - while employees on the American continent sleep, computer experts and support people in India take over. Companies are establishing operations where the people are, instead of trying to move people to the companies. Now employees often resign rather than move. And these days they, or their expertise, cannot be easily replaced. Successful partnerships depend on mutual benefit, not on national boundaries.