The Lake Geneva Region has long been famous for the fine private schools that, for generations, attracted the children of kings, movie stars, diplomats and presidents. What is less well known is that Geneva’s public schools and universities are also exceptional. Perhaps it was the quality of Geneva’s private schools that set the bar high for education as a whole. Or, perhaps, it was because the Lake Geneva Region has few natural resources other than its people. In any case, education has always been a priority and Geneva can be justly proud that investment in the education of its children is among the highest in the world.
Whether public or private, all geneva schools have in common a multicultural flavor. This quality has developed naturally as Geneva’s identity as an international city has evolved over the 20th century. Today Geneva is home to 289 private schools, with the highest number of international schools per inhabitant in Europe, offering a very diverse choice of institutions, diplomas and linguistical options.
Many expatriate families also choose to place their children in the local public school system, to take advantage of these schools’ excellent qualities as well as the opportunity they provide for total immersion in French (not to mention courses in German, Italian and English!) as well as local culture.
The universities of the Lake Geneva Region are also considered among the best institutions worldwide. Not surprisingly Geneva schools of higher learning excel in those areas where the region has a traditional “comparative advantage”, such as international trade and management, international relations, finance, engineering, etc. Significantly, coursework in many institutes is in English.
Geneva’s universities have also built a reputation in other areas of strength, for example, physics, life sciences, nano- and microtechnology. A spin-off of the University of Geneva’s Group of Applied Physics, idQuantique, has developed a commercial quantum cryptology system that MIT Technology Review calls one of the “ten emerging technologies that will change the world”. The University of Geneva’s biology and life sciences departments, likewise, are helping to feed the growing cluster of start-up companies in the region, as well as provide the specialized workforce for such established players as Serono whose world headquarters are here. The Geneva Engineering School offers a post-grad Master’s degree in nano- and micro-technology, as well as intensive programs in using instruments essential to the field.
Obviously, if achieving success in a global world means being able to find and interpret the right information wherever it may be, whoever may have it, a Geneva education is excellent preparation.
Some examples of world-class universities and institutes based in the Geneva region:
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