快猫短视频

Ireland

LESS than an hour by plane and 快猫短视频 finds itself surrounded by the Wicklow mountains and the Georgian architecture of Dublin. Trinity College 鈥� Ireland鈥檚 most prestigious university 鈥� has seen a host of top names in science passing through its corridors. And what greater sign that Irish research is booming than the fact that Irish-born researchers are flooding back from far-flung foreign shores?

Ireland鈥檚 aspiration to be a player on the world stage means that technology-based wealth washes both in and out of the country. High-tech manufacturing makes up more than 75 per cent of Ireland鈥檚 exports, but more than 75 per cent of economic turnover is by companies that are foreign-held 鈥� names like Intel, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard. Fundamental research is burgeoning, too. Technologies of the nano, bio and information varieties lead the pack, and all are receiving serious cash. Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) holds the purse strings and is implementing the Irish government鈥檚 eight-year Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation, which has already funded more than 鈧�1 billion in R&D.

Dublin has remained a hub for great research, boasting five of the SFI鈥檚 Centres for Science, Engineering & Technology. The others are in Limerick, Galway and Cork. Researchers who relocate to Ireland invariably cite the warm nature of its people, from lecturers and locals to cabbies. And that openness goes right to the top: many attribute Ireland鈥檚 successes in part to a government that is sympathetic to the needs of research. Most Irish universities also provide business courses for their graduates, so unleashing your inner entrepreneur on the Emerald Isle might just make you a tidy sum.

Scandinavia

THE Nordic countries have long enjoyed a rich funding climate, with Sweden regularly topping lists of investment in R&D. So how can you get your hands on some of that money? Much of it is piped into biotech, the region鈥檚 flagship science industry. Medicon Valley, a cluster of biotech companies that stretches from the Danish capital of Copenhagen across the south-western toe of Sweden, boasts 345 ventures at last count and hundreds of job opportunities.

A look at the publication record of the Nordic countries shows vast expertise in medicine, and the cluster of cancer research institutes near Oslo in Norway represents the first of many such groups planned for the future. Research, in fact, makes up an unusually high fraction of employment here. Finland, Iceland and Sweden top an international list of researchers as a proportion of the population.

Cross-border collaboration is ever increasing, with the Nordic Council of Ministers working to combine the strengths of each Nordic country into an impressive whole. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just five small countries, it鈥檚 an area of 25 million people with similar cultures and social, political and welfare systems,鈥� says Gard Titlestad, the council鈥檚 head of education, research and labour affairs. The council is working to establish cross-border postgraduate opportunities, and it鈥檚 worth noting that in some Nordic countries, postgrads positions are paid staff jobs.

Mention Scandinavia and in the next breath usually comes a comment about the high quality of life. That comes in part from a sensible work ethic and relatively high wages. Highly qualified newcomers get a few years鈥� amnesty from the high taxes, meaning lots more cash for the enjoyment of the region鈥檚 cold weather 鈥� or as a consolation for it.

Germany

EUROPE鈥橲 most populous nation is arguably its most inventive; its patent applications account for nearly half of the European total. This kind of applied knowledge has created a backbone for Germany鈥檚 dominance in industry, with names like Diesel, Geiger and Zeppelin peppering the country鈥檚 history of innovation. Ideas still flow strongly from Germany鈥檚 renowned research infrastructure and world-class universities.

Recent years have seen vast changes in Germany鈥檚 research landscape. Most of that change has been chalked up to the influence of its physicist-cum-chancellor, Angela Merkel, who besides stimulating more fundamental research has been successful in reforming the higher education system to bring it into line with world standards. Alongside this, Germany鈥檚 central funding body is in the second year of its Excellence Initiative 鈥� using 鈧�1.9 billion to establish several graduate schools and research centres.

Benedetta Ciardi, an Italian-born physicist, is sold. 鈥淚 started with a one-year position in 2001 and I鈥檓 still here,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t seems to me that Germany is investing lots of resources in research and promoting young scientists, which is not the case across all of Europe.鈥�

Renewable energy is one of the rising stars in Germany鈥檚 portfolio, outstripping even its huge pharmaceutical industry. One German firm accounts for a third of hydropower installations worldwide, and nearly half of the world鈥檚 windmills and a third of all solar cells are of German origin.

Few countries offer so many funding opportunities specifically for foreign researchers: the German Academic Exchange Service and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation are the best places to start.

Switzerland

THESE days you could be forgiven for thinking that Switzerland鈥檚 only scientific venture is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a particle-smashing behemoth whose first experiments will doubtless eclipse any other Swiss scientific output this year.

But it鈥檚 not all chalkboards and accelerators. Switzerland has a rich history to match its high-profile present in the hard sciences. Overall, Switzerland鈥檚 researchers publish more patents per capita than any other European country, home-grown multinationals like Nestl茅 and imported giants such as Google and IBM continue to snap up international graduates, and as home to a host of pharmaceutical giants including Roche, Novartis and Serono, Switzerland easily wins the title of Europe鈥檚 biotech cash cow.

This year the Swiss National Science Foundation introduced a new fellowship, called Ambizione, which is open to foreign researchers. Marcel Kullin, one of the foundation鈥檚 funding heads, says it comes with a 鈥渘ot particularly high salary鈥� of 拢45,000, but hey, at least they provide cash for research. Those who don鈥檛 get money from that pot can apply for funding from the European Union, despite Switzerland鈥檚 non-EU status. And don鈥檛 worry, it鈥檚 not an unusual place to be an expat 鈥� nearly a quarter of Switzerland鈥檚 population is foreign-born.

Switzerland is home to two federal institutes that have long been research heavyweights: the EPFL in Lausanne and the ETH in Zurich, which has seen Albert Einstein and 20 other Nobel laureates pass through its corridors. Researchers from the federal institutes join together with Swiss universities to form the 20 National Centres of Competence in Research, government-funded collaborations in topics that range from biology to climate change to nanotechnology.

The Swiss transport system is clean and highly efficient so day trips to Mont Blanc, Lausanne and the capital, Bern, are all within easy reach. And if you get fed up of talking to scientists all day, Geneva also offers a wide choice of open events, says Kate McAlpine, who works at CERN, the European particle physics lab near Geneva that is home to the LHC. 鈥淢y favourite is the conversation cafe 鈥� a bunch of people getting together and speaking the featured language of the night, at any level of fluency, with the option of a family-style dinner.鈥�

And if none of that makes you want to put your passport down and get stuck in, maybe this will: Lindt is hiring.