FAU among the most innovative universities in Europe

Number 2 in Germany, number 6 in Europe

In Reuters’ latest ranking of Europe’s most innovative universities, FAU is ranked at number 6. This is an improvement of three places compared with the first edition of the ranking that was published last September. FAU remains at second place among German universities.

While the universities included in the ranking do not seem to have much in common at first glance – some of the ones at the top of the list are state universities, some private and some religious, some of them have a long history and other are just a few years or decades old – the one thing that they share is that they are all highly innovative.

The top university in Europe is KU Leuven in Belgium, followed by Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. At number 6, FAU is ranked above renowned universities such as the University of Oxford and ETH Zurich, and is one of only three German universities to make it into the top ten. The University has maintained its position as number 2 in Germany from last year’s ranking.

The ranking measures innovation on the basis of ten different factors including the number of publications, patent applications and collaborations with industry. FAU submitted around 260 patent applications between 2012 and 2015, and has supported around 50 spin-offs over the past five years. The University works on joint research projects with large international companies including Siemens and adidas on topics such as renewable energies, healthcare and medical technology, or new materials.