FAU is a powerful leader in innovation.
Erlangen and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have reason to celebrate: In the new Prognos Zukunftsatlas 2025, Erlangen has been ranked second out of 400 regions across Germany—a remarkable achievement for both the city and the university. If you focus solely on cities that aren’t part of a district, Erlangen tops the list. Winning the award as one of Germany’s regions with the brightest future is impressive proof of the city’s innovation, strong economy, and high quality of life—and it also sends a powerful message to FAU.
“Erlangen is one of the most important cities in Germany where the future is being created – thanks to the strong collaboration between science, business, the city and society”, says FAU President Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger. “We are very pleased that FAU is part of this ecosystem of innovation and that its research, teaching and transfer activities are helping Erlangen to gain an outstanding reputation both at home and abroad.”
The Zukunftsatlas from Prognos AG assesses every district and independent city in Germany using more than 60 indicators—including economic performance, innovation, demographics, and quality of life. The study is published every three years and is considered an important indicator of the chances of development of individual regions.
As one of the top universities for research in Germany, FAU has made a decisive contribution to Erlangen’s status as a location for innovation. Projects geared to the future such as the Medical Valley innovation cluster, the National High-Performance Computing Center or the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin underline the scientific excellence and international focus of the region. This is in addition to the region’s strong ecosystem for innovation: Global companies such as Siemens, a large number of medium-sized companies with leading technology, innovative start-ups, and a population with a high affinity for research shape a fertile environment that attracts young talent from all over the world.
“This top position is a shared success for the university and the city and an invitation to continue working together on the future,” emphasizes President Hornegger. “As a university, we are extremely proud to make a contribution to innovation. This close connection makes Erlangen a location that is increasingly attractive for researchers, entrepreneurs and students from across the globe.”