Luxembourg’s research landscape is diverse not only in terms of disciplines but also the variety of talent it attracts from all around the world. At the University of Luxembourg alone students from more than 120 countries are rubbing shoulders; some move on to pastures new when they graduate, but some stay on, finding work or creating their own opportunities.

As the grand duchy strives to be more than a financial centre, it is rebranding as a startup nation, a hub for healthtech and a digital frontrunner. Expats play a crucial role in all these endeavours, helping train the next generation of digital leaders, founding businesses and driving research, technology and innovation forward.

Among those innovators is Sergio Coronado who, in his day job has been chief information officer at the Nato Support and Procurement Agency in Capellen for the past 17 years.

Passionate about learning and technology--he also teaches at the University of Luxembourg--Coronado founded the Luxembourg Tech School in 2016, an initiative aimed at helping teenagers become future digital leaders.

“If you don’t create an ecosystem, starting from high school and even younger, around the importance of learning tech and using tech to solve real problems, then potentially not many people will go and develop their careers in this field,” he says.

The project started with around 30 participants and has grown to include more than 200 students. “I have a dream to give this educational content to every teenager in Luxembourg.” Being able to build the programme in addition to his job is one of the reasons for the tech aficionado to stay in the grand duchy for the time being. “Luxembourg offers a lot of opportunities.”