Buenos Aires, the best city in Latin America to study for the fifth year in a row

For the abundant supply of houses of study, for the prestige afforded by the
University of Buenos Aires and what they think of her
students who chooses it: for the fifth year in a row,
Buenos Aires is the best city in Latin America to study according to the sixth edition of the QS Best Student Cities annual ranking. Then come Mexico, Santiago de Chile, San Pablo and Bogotá.

The methodology for adding points includes different indicators, such as the number and performance of universities offered by each city; if companies are actively recruiting future professionals in these institutions; the economic context to cope with student spending and the quality of life that the city offers. In addition, QS -Quacquarelli Symonds, an international consultant dedicated to the evaluation of higher education issues, takes into account the comments of nearly 90,000 international students, so that these experiences are reflected.

Among the benefits, no city in Latin America has as many universities as Buenos Aires. But that's the UBA (
at the top of the podium as the best university in the region, according to the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings), which makes the difference in favor of the Argentine capital. In addition, Buenos Aires, for example, surpbades Santiago de Chile and Mexico City in terms of quality of life and experience outside the university circuit offered to young people.

Today, more than five million international students travel the world. They choose a point on the map to complete their career, pbad a master's degree, take a language course, graduate or participate in an exchange. And the cities are fighting to conquer them. London, Tokyo and Melbourne – which have not stopped in recent years from launching new programs to position themselves as a destination – are now at the top of the world podium, a picture on which Buenos Aires has fallen to some places: last year, she was 25 years old and today, 31 It is behind Manchester and Kualalumpur, who are tied for 29th position.

In this edition, Barcelona (21), Madrid (27) and Buenos Aires (31) are the best cities in Latin America to study and the only Spanish-speaking cities to figure in the top 50. "The number of students in the top 50. Foreign students have been steadily increasing the city since 2016. Buenos Aires has imposed itself as the best in the region, but the novelty is that it is now starting to join a league of big names such as Madrid and Barcelona – says Fernando Straface, Secretary General and International Relations of Buenos Aires, excellent news for several reasons: first, because the diversity of visions enriches the academic debate and enhances the talent of all students, local and international, secondly, because the arrival of students has a positive economic impact Third, because every student who He returns to his country and becomes ambbadador of Buenos Aires abroad. he continues to promote the city. "

Educational tourism

International students are a phenomenon with a global economic impact. It is estimated that they provide 52,000 million US dollars in the five destinations that more students capture: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, United States and New Zealand.

In 2017, about 80,000 international students arrived in the country. The majority – about 61,000 – chose the city of Buenos Aires and left almost $ 10,000 million in their stay between accommodation, payment of expenses, consumption, transportation and entertainment, among others, according to official data compiled by the Official Study Buenos Aires program and a work conducted by researchers from the Faculty of Economics of UBA and Conicet. The goal is
doubling by 2021 the number of international students arriving in the capital. "At least we hope to reach 100,000," concludes Straface.

Ben Sowter is the UK director of research at QS. He explains that, although Latin America is going through a period of turbulence in the higher education sector, Buenos Aires remains the best place to study in the region: "This is partly due to the positioning of the university. University of Buenos Aires (UBA).), Which was named the region's best university for the fifth year in a row. "Although he later acknowledges that the merit of the UBA does not exist. is not the only weighting factor.

"For students who can not study at the UBA, Buenos Aires has a lot to offer.In terms of quality of life, it has performed better than other cities in Latin America, while its scoring for the employer activity metric places him in the "world 21" position, he clarifies.This last point is important for Sowter because he knows that students are increasingly concerned about the opportunities of jobs that their training can offer them in the future. "Emerging destinations in higher education are responding to this demand. But Buenos Aires, as the best-positioned city in Latin America, is a place of power, "he concludes.

IN ADDITION