FAU among the 50 most innovative universities in the world

FAU once again in second place in Germany in new Reuters ranking

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has once again won second place among the most innovative universities in Germany. The University came in at place 49 in the global comparison, moving up three places from last year’s ranking.

The American-Canadian media company Reuters once again published its ranking of world universities based on their level of innovation. This was measured mainly on the basis of the number of patents filed, as well as the number of publications – including those resulting from collaboration in industry.

How can innovation be measured? To answer this question in the context of higher education, Reuters examined 500 universities from all over the world that had the highest number of publications in academic journals and developed a method of evaluation that considered ten different parameters, including academic publications, patent applications, and joint development projects with industry.

Another success for FAU: climbing to place 49 in the global ranking. Just one other university in Germany made it into the top 50. The top spots in the international ranking are held by the usual candidates, with Stanford University in first place in the top 100, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in second and Harvard University in third.

FAU’s research focuses intensely on issues that pose a challenge to society in the 21st century. It covers topics from across the spectrum of academic disciplines, from energy research into reactions to climate change, medical engineering or optical research dealing with challenges in healthcare, to topics such as human rights, language and religion, or societies in the Middle East and Asia. The latter is particularly relevant for current topics such as growing markets like China, asylum policy and intercultural discussion between religions. The success of the University’s research projects in these areas can be seen in the resulting patents, products and innovative developments in industry.

Further information:

Jens Kämmler
Phone: +49 9131 8523171
jens.kaemmler@fau.de