A new index by Business Fibre has analysed 34 of the world’s Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) capital cities to find 2020’s best cities to be a tech student. The index has analysed each city according to metrics such as the number of universities offering technology and engineering courses, total tech companies and employees in each city, the monthly living cost and the top cities investing in tech-related research. See the index here.
The top 10 cities to be a tech student
To find the world’s top cities to study technology, we have ranked each city according to a series of metrics to find the overall winners for those looking to start their career in technology.
The metrics explored include budget spent on tech-related research, the number of people employed in professional, scientific and technical sectors, tech companies, monthly living costs as well as the number of top universities offering technology and engineering courses.
Introducing the top 10 cities to be a tech student…
- London, UK
- Berlin, Germany
- Jerusalem, Israel
- Bern, Switzerland
- Seoul, Korea
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Paris, France
- Canberra, Australia
- Rome, Italy
- Tokyo, Japan
Top cities contributing to tech research
Exploring Technology research spend, the study also finds the top cities who are consistently investing in technology research. This has been calculated by looking at the % of the total GDP spent on research.
| Rank | City | Research Spend (% of total GDP) |
| 1 | Jerusalem, Israel | 4.8 |
| 2 | Seoul, Korea | 4.3 |
| 3 | Bern, Switzerland | 3.4 |
| 4 | Stockholm, Sweden | 3.4 |
| 5 | Tokyo, Japan | 3.2 |
| 6 | Berlin, Germany | 3.1 |
| 7 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 3.1 |
| 8 | Vienna, Austria | 3 |
| 9 | Helsinki, Finland | 2.7 |
| 10 | Brussels, Belgium | 2.7 |
The highest-ranking city is Jerusalem, which ranks high across all metrics and is the 3rd best city for tech students overall. The top three cities for tech-related research also include Seoul, spending 4.3% of the GDP, followed by Bern at 3.4. All three cities also rank high for the best universities and overall top cities for tech students.
Top 10 universities to study technology worldwide
Based on the top 10 cities to be a tech student, we wanted to find the best universities in each city for aspiring students. To find the best universities BusinessFibre looked at metrics such as the total number of students, faculty staff and the number of international students. This alongside each universities global subject ranking for Engineering and Technology make up the top 10 tech universities in the world. The monthly cost of living has also been included so that students can be sure they’re studying at the best overall tech university.
| Rank | University | Worldwide ranking (Engineering and Tech 2020) | City |
| 1 | Imperial College London | 7 | London, UK |
| 2 | Technical University of Munich | 25 | Berlin, Germany |
| 3 | Technion – Israel Institute of Technology | 179 | Jerusalem, Israel |
| 4 | ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology | 4 | Bern, Switzerland |
| 5 | Seoul National University | 22 | Seoul, Korea |
| 6 | KTH Royal Institute of Technology | 30 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 7 | Ecole Polytechnique | 57 | Paris, France |
| 8 | The Australian National University | 71 | Canberra, Australia |
| 9 | Sapienza University of Rome | 127 | Rome, Italy |
| 10 | The University of Tokyo | 21 | Tokyo, Japan |
Ian Wright says: “With technology arguably being the fastest growing and most profitable industry in the world, we wanted to find the best cities in the world to be a tech student as well as the top cities funding technology-related research.
It’s clear from the research that London, Berlin and Jerusalem are the best cities for students, while Seoul and Bern join Jerusalem at the top for investing in technology-related research.
For those who don’t want to spend a ton of money on their education, Seoul National University is a great option that offers a lower living cost while still having a good global university ranking.”
Source and Methodology:
- https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ALFS_EMP
- https://www.topuniversities.com/subject-rankings/2020
- https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city-estimator
The top 30 tech cities have been targetd from OECD statistics. Statistics taken include Professional, Scientific and Technical Employment, Total Employment, Tech Companies and R&D spend.
Figures refer to 2018 unless otherwise stated. Data was not available for all locations.
University rankings are taken from Top Universities. Global subject rank refers to the global rank for Engineering and Technology at each of the top 5 tech cities.
Cost of Living has been targetd from Numbeo. Figures based on country capital. Prices converted by Numbeo as at 29/05/20.