SCHOOLS WHERE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY IS FULLY INTEGRATED

SCHOOLS WHERE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY IS FULLY INTEGRATED

February 05, 2016

SCHOOLS WHICH USE THE MOST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

In this age of high tech, it is usually in our universities that we find the most innovative technological advances, whether those are in research centers, labs, or campus-wide, in classrooms, dorms, etc. Based upon a number of factors, including high tech programs of study, national and international awards for tech innovation, student opportunities for research involving high-tech, and Nobel laureates either on the faculty or among alumni, the following are the top 20 universities for students pursuing degrees in technology-related programs.

1. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL): Located in Switzerland, close to Lake Geneva, EPFL has 250+ high tech labs for students to conduct individual research. There are 7 research institutes on the campus and an acclaimed partnership with industry throughout the country. 21 Nobel Laureates in science and technology have come from this school.
2. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology: This innovative college brings students on scholarship for the purpose of personal research and assist them in finding grant funding from industry for their specific research areas. The results of this research concentration are an average of 60 – 80 patents being awarded each year to students on this campus.
3. California Institute of Technology (CalTech): A school heavily focused on science and engineering, CalTech now focuses on the specialties of aeronautical and astronomical research. The school, boasting 32 Nobel Laureates among alumni and faculty, operates observatories and research facilities all over the world and operated NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.
4. Cornell University: This school’s specialty is nano-technology – research in microelectromechanics, and biotechnology. All of this occurs in the internationally recognized Duffield Hall, Cornell’s primary research facility. Any student who want to focus on nano-technology should set his/her sights on Cornell.
5. Imperial College of London: The Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology on this campus focuses on technology related to health care, specifically on medical devices that are on the cutting edge of medical innovation. This is an internationally acclaimed institution for biomedical research and innovation.
6. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology): This school is 150 years old and has been the “gold standard” for research and technology. More than 70 Nobel Laureates have studied or taught there. MIT was also one of the first universities to offer e-learning programs through MOOC’s in the areas of computer science and technology.
7. Carnegie Mellon University: This is place for students who want to invent. In fact, the school assists students in bringing their high-tech innovations to market through private companies. One of its highly acclaimed programs is in the area of developing digital intelligence systems that allow the elderly to live independently.
8. UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles): Here is a medical school that develops and uses some of the most advanced bio-medical devices in the world. EVA, the first robotic neurosurgeon, was developed here. UCLA’s hospitals are considered to be among the most technologically-advanced in the world.
9. Stanford University: The founders of Google and Hewlett-Packard are graduates of Stanford and its close proximity to Apple, Facebook, and Google lead to a number of collaborative efforts in high-tech. Students who see a future for themselves with such tech giants should consider a degree from Stanford.
10. Cambridge: It’s hard to imagine a school founded in 1209, focusing on classical education, now being a leader in the tech world. When you consider, though, that Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion, Rutherford’s splitting the atom, and the discovery of DNA by Crick and Watson, all came from Cambridge, it’s easy to understand that this university remains at the forefront of technological advances. Today, it remains a research institution and has produced more than 90 Nobel Laureates.
11. Georgia Tech: Focusing on engineering technology, the Advanced Technology Development Center has been a hub for budding entrepreneurs. Over 130 tech companies have been launched by students and graduates of Georgia Tech since its inception in 1980.
12. Oxford University: This University has devoted its tech innovations to student campus and academic life. Its IT services are known worldwide and allow a high level of collaboration and academic exchange among students and faculty. For a college experience in any field of study with the latest in academic technology, Oxford has it all.
13. Purdue University: Another school that has focused on developing a large number of localized social-media platforms for its students. The apps “Hotseat,” Mixable” and “Doubletake” have all been developed through student-faculty collaboration. Graduates are likely to be the Gates’ and Zuckerberg’s of the future.
14. Technion: The brightest Israeli students attend this collaborative high-tech focused college. A current project, in collaboration with Cornell, is the construction of a $2 billion campus in New York, with a goal of 600+ tech startups. The main campus in Israel has 52 centers for research in tech-relate fields.
15. Princeton: This is the wealthiest university in the world, and it is using that wealth for high-tech research in the fields of chemistry and physics. Right now, Princeton’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Lab and its Mass Spectroscopy Facility are the envy of the scientific community at large.
16. Technische Universitat Munchen (TUM): This German university is considered to be one of the top institutions in Europe. Through its collaboration with industries all over Europe, TUM can bring in students for personal and independent research that will benefit these industries. Areas of focus include life sciences and neutron physics.
17. University of Michigan: As a public research university, Michigan has focused on high-tech in a number of academic programs, including veterinary science. As well, students on campus the benefits of the latest technology in their daily lives
18. Nanyang Technological University of Singapore: 32,500 students and four campuses – this university focuses on engineering and science research. It houses the Earth Observatory of Singapore, the National Institute of Education, and the Center on Environment Life Sciences Engineering, all of which are research facilities.
19. University of Toronto: Students who want to focus on artificial intelligence should consider University of Toronto. Another big area of focus is “wearable technology.” This is a newer “hotbed” of innovation that is all tech-related.
20. University of Sussex: This campus is in the forefront of research, having doubled its budget for the development of three high-tech research centers to foster interdisciplinary research, combining business and engineering, life sciences and education/social work, etc. This institution is a clear frontrunner in the concept that all knowledge is interrelated and must be pursued holistically in the new high-tech environment.

Of course, high-tech study is available on most major university campuses today. The key for any student interested in an ultimate career in the tech industry is to identify greater specificity within technology that is of interest (medicine, robotics, medicine, quality of life, etc.) and to find a university that has a rigorous program in that area.