Engineering, Life Sciences, Architecture and Civil Engineering
The University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) is one of Switzerland’s leading universities of applied sciences, with campuses across several cantons. It comprises several schools, including those for Engineering, Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geomatics, and Life Sciences.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Automation, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Geotechnics, Industrial Design, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Metrology, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Project Management, Quality, Robotics, Signal Processing, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Diploma, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Extensive network of partnerships with industry, businesses, and public institutions in Northwestern Switzerland and internationally. Strong focus on applied research and development (aR&D) and knowledge transfer.
Research:
Applied research across its schools in areas like industrial automation, data science, sustainable technologies, construction innovation, pharmaceutical technology, environmental science, and medical technology.
Famous Alumnis:
N/A
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
2000
Current students***:
13000
Foreign students***:
10%
Cumulative former students***:
60000
Pros
Wide range of practice-oriented technical and scientific programs, strong regional embedding and industry collaboration, good infrastructure.
Cons
Distributed across multiple campuses.
Best For
Students seeking practice-oriented higher education in engineering, life sciences, or architecture/construction in Northwestern Switzerland.
Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften overlaps with this institution on metrology, quality and bioinformatics, so the two are easy to compare, and it covers ergonomics and agriculture as well, and has almost the same size, at about 14,000 students.
Berner Fachhochschule overlaps with this school on metrology, quality and geotechnics, so the two are easy to compare, and it covers ergonomics and agriculture as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 7,800 students against roughly 13,000 here.
The comparison with OST – Ostschweizer Fachhochschule is straightforward on subjects, since both focus on metrology, quality and geotechnics, and it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and diploma, and covers agriculture and food science as well.
For students who like the metrology, quality and geotechnics focus of this school but want another option nearby, Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse occidentale fits well: it runs the same bachelor's, master's and diploma programmes, and covers ergonomics and agriculture as well.
Hochschule Luzern sits close to this institution on metrology, quality and geotechnics; it is smaller, enrolling about 8,000 students against roughly 13,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Wrocław University of Science and Technology in Poland is the nearest foreign match on metrology, quality and bioinformatics; it covers aerospace and transportations as well, and is larger, enrolling about 26,000 students against roughly 13,000 here.
Looking internationally, University of Tsukuba in Japan is where bioinformatics, geotechnics and nanotechnologies get a comparable treatment; it is slightly larger, at about 17,000 students against roughly 13,000 here, and is also a public institution.
The closest overseas parallel on bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and optics is Fachhochschule Aachen, located in Germany; it does not run the diploma programmes found here and covers aerospace and transportations as well.
Seen from abroad, Warsaw University of Technology (Poland) is a close relative on subject matter, since metrology, quality and bioinformatics are central to both, and it covers aerospace and transportations as well, and is larger, enrolling about 32,000 students against roughly 13,000 here.
On content, UTokyo in Japan and this school are close, as both teach bioinformatics, geotechnics and nanotechnologies; it also offers doctoral programmes and covers astroscience and marine science as well.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
Architecture, Civil Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Innovation, Product Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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