International scientists embrace Shanghai

Shanghai is one of the best cities in the world to work and live - in the eyes of international scientists - according to a report released at the Pujiang Innovation Forum on Saturday.

This year's "Ideal City" report, in its seventh year, ranks Shanghai in fourth place, following Singapore, Shenzhen and Boston, for its high comprehensive performance in categories of education, talent, and science and technology.

The report, conducted by Springer Nature by commission of the Shanghai Institute for Science of Science, surveyed more than 800 high-end scientists in 20 innovation centers around the world.

Besides the four cities mentioned above, others, based on the rankings, are New York, Beijing, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Seoul, Seattle, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Sydney, Mumbai, and Moscow.

Just five years ago, Shanghai, along with Beijing and Shenzhen, failed to even get into the top 10 list. But 24 percent of those interviewed believed Shanghai would climb to the top five, due to its continuous efforts to become a global innovation hub.

Notably, this year's report pinpointed that Shanghai has created the best environment to foster and develop international science and technology talent.

The rise of Asian cities in the rankings reflects that the world's talent pool is gradually transiting from the US and Europe to Asia, the report showed.

Emerging innovation cities show significant late-mover advantages in embracing the digital era, providing new opportunities, and innovating in governance, hence attracting large amounts of capital and talent, said Wang Xueying, the main author of the report.

Wang noted that the next five to ten years will be the key phase for the transition of global innovation landscape, with youngsters, culture, and policies as three keywords.

To be precise, they mean affordable living costs, diverse and international living environments, competitive salaries, and good prospects in the workplace.