European Innovation Ranking: FAU in second place

University rises three places in European Reuters ranking

A major success for Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU): In the recently published Reuters ranking of the most innovative European universities, FAU is listed in second place, moving up three places compared to the previous year. The list is topped by the Belgian university KU Leuven.

FAU president Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger welcomes the news: ‘The ranking demonstrates once again how strong we are when it comes to innovation. It shows that we successfully manage to bridge the gap between fundamental research and knowledge transfer, a characteristic which is shared by the entire metropolitan region of Nuremberg.’ Only last year, the University was listed top in Germany. ‘We are proud that we were able to continue this trend, becoming even more successful in the process.’

FAU is one of two universities in Germany to reach the Top 10 in the Reuters ranking of the most innovative European universities, the other university is TU München. Also included in the Top 10 are the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and École Polytechnique de Lausanne.

Focus on practical application starts in degree programmes

Prof. Hornegger is well aware that the University’s success in the ranking is down to the researchers at FAU. ‘I am very proud that researchers at our University are not only aware of the importance of research to the University, but also of the significance of patent applications and transfer to industry.’ This is a feature of the University which also benefits students at FAU: ‘Putting research into practice whilst studying is an important characteristic of an attractive study location. At FAU, students have the opportunity to forge close contacts with industry during their degree and benefit from the knowledge and expertise from industry. That sets them in good stead for their future career.’

How is innovation assessed?

Bringing new ideas or products to the market or developing an unusual strategy: there are lots of different ways to be innovative. But how can you actually measure innovation? In order to answer these questions with respect to the higher education sector, Clarivate Analytics investigated more than 600 universities on the basis of ten different factors, including patent applications, citations from research, patents which cite other patents, scientific publications and joint projects with industry, and based the ranking of the most innovative European universities on the results.

Further information:

FAU Press Office
+49 9131 8570229
presse@fau.de