There are some careers within tech that are considered to be more robust or recession-proof than others: for example cybersecurity and cloud computing, which often go hand-in-hand thanks to the rise in adoption of SaaS providers and IoT services, meaning our data needs more protection than ever.
Jobs in artificial intelligence and machine learning are also considered to be a secure bet. As AI creates new ways of automating tasks and processes, it is making some roles redundant – but it is leading to the creation of many more for knowledge workers in particular. According to PwC’s Global Artificial Intelligence Study, AI has the potential to contribute to the global economy by 2030, and provide a 26% boost in GDP for local economies.
The European Commission is wise to the opportunity. It aims to make the EU a world-class hub for AI, while ensuring that the tech is human-centric and trustworthy. “Europe is well placed to benefit from the potential of AI, not only as a user but also as a creator and a producer of this technology. It has excellent research centres, innovative start-ups, a world-leading position in robotics and competitive manufacturing and services sectors, from automotive to healthcare, energy, financial services and agriculture,” says the Commission’s white paper On Artificial Intelligence – A European approach to excellence and trust.
While Europe isn’t at U.S. levels in terms of AI startups, it comes in second globally. The number of AI startups in European states was 769 in 2021, compared to the United States’ 1,393. Equally, in terms of education, Europe takes second place in terms of the number of AI-specialised Master’s programs, with Germany having the highest overall number of AI programmes, and France leading with AI Master’s courses.
Within Europe as a whole, Statista reports that the UK was the highest-ranked Western European country for AI in 2020. It is closely followed by Finland, Germany, and Sweden, but there are other players with potential too, such as Denmark and the Netherlands. Below, we’re taking a look at three European locations for artificial intelligence jobs.
The UK
The UK launched its first National Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy in 2021 to ensure it secures its place as a global science leader into the future. “The UK is a global superpower in AI and is well placed to lead the world over the next decade as a genuine research and innovation powerhouse, a hive of global talent and a progressive regulatory and business environment,” the strategy says.
There are currently 1,486 AI companies across the UK which have secured £8.48b worth of equity investment. These include OneTrust, Graphcore, Thought Machine, Lendable and Signal AI. Twenty percent of the UK’s AI firms have been founded since 2017, indicating strong growth in the sector.
Big multinational tech companies are in this space too, such as Google, currently hiring for a Principal Engineer, Artificial Intelligence and Cerebra in London. You’ll be directly developing and landing ambient AI projects and you will prove out ambient AI projects that address customer challenges, leveraging advances in privacy technologies, models, and signals that devices have access to. Find out more here.
Germany
As Europe’s biggest economy, it’s no surprise that Germany is a leading location for artificial intelligence. Home to the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, one of the world’s largest nonprofit contract research institutes, which has facilities in multiple cities accessing the country including Berlin, Bremen and Lübeck.
Most of its AI activity is focused on Berlin: 48% of all German AI start-ups between 2012 and 2017 were founded in the city, and by 2025, the turnover of the AI companies in the Berlin-Brandenburg area is expected to rise to €2bn.
Names to know include Unicsoft, Mobildev, Talentica Software, Trigma and Celadon, and big household names are innovating too, such as Mercedes-Benz Tech Innovation and Siemens AG, which is hiring in Berlin. The Consultant Artificial Intelligence/ Advanced Analytics will advise customers on business intelligence projects on the www.pulse.cloud platform and will work on the development of various models in the field of machine learning and data science as well as advanced analytics. Find out more about the role here.
The Netherlands
In 2020, the Dutch capital of Amsterdam came second in the small cities category in the Global Cities’ AI Readiness Index, which captures cities’ ability to adapt and thrive in the coming age of AI. The report found that Amsterdam was as competitive as some megacities (which included Beijing and New York), with populations of more than 10 million.
The city is home to Amsterdam Science Park, which was the birthplace of the European internet, and more recently the home of the National Innovation Centre for AI (ICAI). This centre brings academia, industry and government together to develop AI technologies.
Top AI companies in The Netherlands include Under Reality, Eastsource, Bitfury and Dashmote and right now, Synechron is seeking a Data Scientist in Amsterdam to work on solving AI challenges for, and with customers. Your knowledge and skills will help shape the future of banking as you lead client projects to solve AI challenges and translate analytical solutions into recommendations. You can get the full job spec here.
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