Ikea was the highest ranking company originating in Sweden, scoring 17th place among business students and ranking 18th with those taking engineering or IT courses.
Volvo Car Corporation was also placed 25th by students from the latter group. ABB, one of the world's largest engineering companies which resulted from the merger of Swedish corporation Allmänna Svenska Elektriska.
Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and the Swiss company Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC), came 49th among budding engineers and IT professionals.
Both Ikea and Volvo each climbed three places in the survey's overall rankings.
More than 168,000 undergraduate students from the continent's twelve largest economies including Sweden, Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands were quizzed for the survey, which was carried out by Stockholm-based company Universum, which gathers global data from top career-seekers.
Image: Universum
Google topped the list of dream companies to work for for business students, followed by French-born firm L'Oreal and Microsoft. Engineering and IT students prioritised IBM; Siemens and BMW Group, with Google in fourth place.
“Among the things we’re seeing, top employers are the ones that have made professional development the top thing on their agendas, and offer a creative and dynamic work environment too,” said Claudia Tattanelli, Global Director of Universum.
“It’s crucial that these employers continue to communicate their offerings externally while ensuring they stand true to what they say.”
Across Europe, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Banks, and Professional Services were the most represented industries in the ranking. Despite the recent global banking crisis, the banking sector had the highest number of firms climbing in the ranks.
The study suggests that the greatest fear of current students is to be stuck in a career without development opportunities, while work/life balance was topped the list of career goals across the continent.
Innovation was also one of the most highly regarded characteristics of an ideal employer for engineering and IT students in Europe.
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