Excellent in Many Ways

Chemnitz University of Technology is a diverse university that is a part of a strong regional, national and international network. It is home to roughly 11,000 students from around 100 countries. Due to its high proportion of international students, Chemnitz University of Technology is the most international university in Saxony and occupies a leading position nationwide among state universities. With around 2,300 employees in the sciences, technology and administration, the university is also an important catalyst in the region.

The university sees itself as a driver of innovation in dealing with the important problems of tomorrow. Against the backdrop of global changes and new demographics, there is a need for comprehensive solutions that are sustainable, interdisciplinary and beneficial to our society. For this purpose, Chemnitz University of Technology has defined its three core competencies in research and teaching as follows: Materials and Smart Systems, Resource-efficient Production and Lightweight Structures, and Humans and Technology.

Within the area of Materials and Intelligent Systems, the university focuses on the research and development of innovative materials and material systems as well as new integration technologies, for example, in vehicle construction, renewable energy technology and medical technology. Functional applications through intelligent systems are of particular importance. In addition, the university has opened the Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN), which is unique within Europe, and was financed with 34.3 million euros of federal and state funding.

Chemnitz University of Technology occupies a top position in research in the area of Resource-efficient Production and Lightweight Structures. The work in this core competency is supported by the Federal Cluster of Excellence “Technologies for Multifunctional Lightweight Structures” (MERGE). Funded with around 40 million euros, this cluster is the only one in Germany that works in the forward-looking field of lightweight construction.

The university is characterised by interdisciplinary cooperation, and this is also shown in the core competency of Humans and Technology. Two examples of this are the Virtual Humans Interdisciplinary Competence Centre and the now completed CrossWorlds: Coupling Virtual and Real Social Worlds post-graduate training programme. Junior scientists are offered outstanding conditions for promotion and career development via junior research groups.

Together with non-university research institutions as well as university-affiliated institutes, city leadership and partners from the business community, the university provides ideal conditions that combine practice-oriented education and foundational, application-oriented research. The university’s SAXEED start-up network offers good starting conditions for the leap from the lecture hall into self-employment. With this support since its founding in 2006, more than 150 projects have been successfully launched, including 45 technology-oriented companies with high growth potential. This contributes greatly to the university’s reputation as one of the best for start-ups in all of Germany. The university is also a significant catalyst for cultural and social development in the city and in the region.