The Data Scientist Magazine - Issue 1

FRANKFURT DATA SCIENCE CITY

Rated as an ‘Alpha World City’ by the GaWC / The financial hub of Germany and one of the world’s largest stock exchanges / The biggest city in the German federal state of Hesse / A city of commerce and high-technology / Boasts one of Europe’s largest and busiest airports / Hosted international trade fairs since 1240 / A long and proud history in research and academia / An extremely livable city with a cosmopolitan feel and diverse, multicultural population

Frankfurt may sometimes go under the radar as far as the likes of tourism and media attention are concerned. Perhaps because it has a look quite unlike other German cities? It has inherited the nickname of ‘Mainhattan’ – because the city that straddles the River Main boasts the vast majority of the country’s skyscrapers - with the Commerzbank Tower being the tallest in Frankfurt, standing at 260 metres high.

But, as stated above, when it comes to Data Science, Frankfurt is gaining a burgeoning reputation on both the European and worldwide stages, and as a city is a great place to live and work in. That’s why so many are taking a bite out of Germany’s ‘Big Apple’ and why we at The Data Scientist are featuring it as our very first Data Science City

FRANKFURT FACTS

Full City Name

Frankfurt-am-Main

Population

It is the fifth largest German city, and has 763,380 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2019)

OUR FIRST CITY FOCUS FEATURES A CITY THAT IS FAST BECOMING A GLOBAL DATA SCIENCE AND AI POWERHOUSE - FRANKFURT .

FRANKFURT

Frankfurt’s Data Science Pedigree

Frankfurt is Germany’s financial hub. But not only that, the city is also becoming a real hub of the country’s data centre industry, too. Possibly because of the strong financial sector within the city and also because Frankfurt is home to one of the largest internet exchange points in the world. There are more than 50 colocation data centres and over a thousand international networks that converge at DE-CIX. Frankfurt is quickly joining the likes of London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin as one of the largest locations for data centres in Europe - and as a country, Germany is one of the most developed countries with regard to business digitisation and digital public services.

Indeed, there are a number of Pharma companies based in and close to Frankfurt. Whilst data science is still relatively new with regard to academia within the country, the huge importance of digitisation for the city’s financial sector ensures the growing need for data science expertise within the Frankfurt area.

Location

Located in the German state of Hesse, and lies on the River Main in the heart of the Rhine-Main metropolitan region.

Geography

Close to a number of major German cities, stunning countryside, and it’s only two hours away from France - you can even go and ski in Switzerland at the weekend if that’s what you want to do!

Hesse

Frankfurt-am-Main

FRANKFURT

The World Conference on Data Science & Statistics

(more commonly known as Data Science Week 2023) will be held in Frankfurt from 26th to 28th June next year, with a theme of “Understanding Data Science: How it can help now and in the future”. To keep your finger on the pulse of data science events within the city, then head to the following website: www.meetup.com/topics/data-science/de/frankfurt

Money, money, money

With well over 400 banking addresses in the financial district alone, some say that Frankfurt runs on money. Indeed, the city is a major European financial hub, the main financial hotspot in Germany, and the gateway to Europe’s biggest economy.

Frankfurt hosts a large and unique concentration of European and national supervisory bodies, international banks, insurance companies and legal practitioners. Companies and organisations in Frankfurt include financial giants such as Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank, BHF Berliner Handels-und Frankfurter Bank, DG Deutsche and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, while you can also find the likes of BfG Bank, Citibank, HSBC, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs within the city.

Frankfurt also has the 12th largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalisation - and it’s in Frankfurt where European monetary policy is conducted, due to the city being home to the European Central Bank (ECB).

But Frankfurt isn’t all about finance and banking - there are any number of cloud and fintech start-up companies too. Plus the automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical, technology and research services, consulting, media and creative industries are really strong within the city, ensuring Frankfurt is a major economic base, and one where data science flourishes.

Overview of the city

Frankfurt is multicultural, welcoming, and a great place to live and work. It has a thriving economy, a low unemployment rate, and excellent career opportunities. It is a city of contrasts, where towering glass structures rise above the picture-postcard-pretty Old Town (Altstadt), and where Germany’s largest city forest is walkable from the centre.

90% of Frankfurt was destroyed in World War II, but having been rebuilt it’s now possibly Germany’s most diverse and multicultural city, with nearly 30% of residents carrying a foreign passport. Frankfurt is a city that is both modern and progressive and also charming and historic, and boasts a wealth of culture, art, and places to visit and see.

Many experts say that Frankfurters enjoy some of the highest quality of life in the world. Their work-life balance clocks in at a rather attractive average working week of 25 hours and a happiness level of 7.3 out of 10. Add in excellent education, transportation, and healthcare, and you can see why many see the city on the Main as one of the best places to live in the world.

With regard to working in Frankfurt, any citizens of countries that are members of the European Union enjoy the same status as Germans in the local job market, whereas others must first obtain a work permit (Arbeitserlaubnis) which is needed for a residency visa (Aufenthaltsgenehmigung). In general, an application must be filed through the German consulate abroad well in advance of the starting date of the work contract.

BUT DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT: Frankfurt was ranked 7th in the international city comparison of Mercer’s ‘Quality of Living Index’ in 2019, and in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2018 ‘Global Livability Index’, Frankfurt came in 12th place worldwide, making it the most livable city in Germany and number 4 in Europe!

7 things about Frankfurt you may not know

1. Frankfurt has a huge forest (Stadtwald Frankfurt) in the heart of the city. The 5000 hectare forest is even within walking distance from the old town, and is popular with runners, cyclists, and walkers.

2. The famous German Poet Goethe was born in and lived all his life in Frankfurt.

3. The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s largest trade fair for books.

4. Throughout the Holy Roman Empire, new kings were elected in Frankfurt.

5. The first Wikimania - the yearly conference for all things Wikipedia - was held in Frankfurt in 2005.

6. The Senckenberg Museum of Natural History houses the largest dinosaur exhibition in Europe.

7. In 1944 when the city was bombed during the Second World War, all the animals (including lions) escaped the city’s zoo.

Transport

Frankfurt’s major international airport is the biggest in Germany, the primary hub for Lufthansa, and one of the busiest in Europe. There’s also an excellent transport system that includes U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and buses. And it’s good to note that much of Frankfurt has been an Environmental Zone since 2008, so if you’re driving make sure that your vehicle has an emissions sticker.

Education

A great place to study, especially for those who are interested in finance, business, or indeed, data science. There are plenty of international schools within the city, which is home to influential and reputable educational institutions and seven universities, including the Goethe University, the UAS, the FUMPA and graduate schools like the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management (courses include Masters in Applied Data Science, and Masters in Data Analytics & Management).