Contact

News & Insights

Sweden’s best city for study

The SFS jury explained that the city was chosen because it is “forward-thinking and pro-active”. SFS chairman Caroline Sundberg praised the city for prioritising students and making sure they are well accommodated by increasing student housing and the influence of students in the city. “This brings hope and trust to the students of Gävle,” Sundberg said. The city also has a positive outlook for the future, with plans for further development.

The city’s largest educational institution, The University of Gävle, has a strong focus on creating sustainable living environments through research and higher education. It offers international courses on topics such as electronics/automation, geomatics, and energy systems and has around 17,000 students currently studying there.

What other cities in Sweden are great for study?

Though it may have nabbed the crown this time around, Gävle isn’t the only place in Sweden that ranks highly for higher education. Here is just a small selection of other notable Universities that grace the Nordic country:

  • University of Stockholm – Over 70,000 students at four different faculties make Stockholm University one of the largest in Scandinavia. It offers many different courses in English.
  • Uppsala University – Founded in 1477, this is the oldest Nordic university. Located very close to Stockholm, it ranks in the top 100 in the QS World University Ranking 2016-2017 and is a previous winner of the SFS’s award for Student City of the Year.
  • University of Gothenburg – As Sweden’s second largest city, Gothenburg is also home to one of the country’s largest universities. It has eight faculties, including Creative Arts, Social Sciences, and Information Technology, and it offers around 70 undergraduate courses in English.

With a high quality of living, an excellent network of efficient public transport services, and no pressing requirement to learn the language (Sweden ranks as one of the top countries in the world when it comes to citizens’ English skills), Sweden is an ideal country to move for study. What’s more, if you’re a citizen of an EU, Nordic, or EEA country, then you do not have to pay tuition fees.

Ensuring your finances are in order

However, the cost of living in Sweden is high and, therefore, it’s important to get all the help you can with wealth management. After all, the future is unpredictable, so it’s advisable to make sure you’re using your money as wisely as you can.

Blacktower has expat financial advisers in Sweden to help you manage your money so you’re better equipped to reach all your financial goals. Get in touch today.

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

The Pensions Black Hole

Meeting financial advisorThere’s quite a buzz around pensions at the moment – and rightly so, as they provide the backbone of our income in our later years. But currently, pension deficits are hitting the news, and figuring them out can still prove difficult.

Pension deficits concern what are commonly known as “final salary pensions” or Defined Benefit schemes.   Final salary or defined benefit (DB) schemes are essentially occupational pension schemes that provide a set level of pension at retirement, the amount of which normally depends on your service and earnings at retirement or in the years immediately preceding when you retire. Because your pensionable salary is used as one part of the formula in order to calculate your pension, a final salary scheme is commonly referred to as a ‘salary related’ scheme. Two common examples of ‘final pensionable salary’ would be your last year’s pensionable earnings or an average of your last 3 years’ pensionable salary.

Recently, there have been high-profile failures of these systems, such as the folding of Monarch Airlines – and the collapse of their pension fund. Initially, it appeared that owners could still walk away with a profit (after new hands tried to turn the airline into a more accessible and “Ryanair-like” product) by offloading debts, and this included dropping the pension fund. Ironically, this was once a major credit to the business. The fund, which is now in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), had been under speculation of being left short when the business first began to struggle back in 2014, after years of asset-stripping.

Read More

Select your country

Please select your country of residence so we can provide you with the most relevant information: