TUD's Internationalization Strategy
Table of contents
Science is international. For this reason, thinking and acting internationally is decisive in the worldwide competition for students and scientists.
Maintaining teaching and research at the highest international level and securing their continued development is considered to be one of our most important tasks. Internationalization as a long-term goal of our University is therefore an integral element in all strategic documents, above all in the Institutional Strategy “The Synergetic University”, in our development plan and in our mission statement.
Four fields of action in terms of Internationalization
“We provide our students with an internationally oriented education, preparing them for their future tasks as mobile, internationally active scientists and academics as well as specialists and executives. It is our goal to equip them with the skills necessary for a globalized world and for the employment market, and to support them as they develop into open-minded members of our society.”
We are promoting student mobility abroad by participating actively in the development of the higher education areas of Europe and the wider world and by dismantling barriers to mobility.
We are extending our internationally oriented study programs and those held in English, especially in the subjects which are particularly useful to international students.
We are improving the academic success of international students with the help of supervision and integration measures. We have made it our goal to occupy a top position in Germany in terms of the successful education of this target group.
2. The internationalization of research
“We are intensifying our links with international partners in order to promote research collaborations and to achieve top research results. Our junior researchers are already actively involved in this development while working on their doctorates.”
We are collaborating with international scientists and academics worldwide in order to achieve top research results. It is only as an appealing, internationally connected university that we will be able to overcome global scientific and social challenges.
We are furthering the internationalization of the doctoral phase. It is our aim to integrate junior researchers into collaborations and exchanges with international scientists and academics early on. Top scientific quality in an international environment will ensure our University is an appealing destination for doctoral candidates from all over the world.
“We are creating general conditions in which the internationalization of teaching and research at our University can unfold in the best way possible, and which serve to equip all university members with the necessary skills to enable them to contribute effectively to shaping this development.”
We are aiming towards having an academic staff that is international in character. Cultural diversity and international experience ensure the critical examination of socially relevant questions. We are committed to an international campus and are creating the support structures appropriate to this end.
We are continuously expanding on our linguistic and intercultural skills. To make our international guests feel welcome at our University, we are consolidating and expanding our internationally-oriented service culture. We support our employees in their endeavors to put the idea of an international campus into practice in everyday life.
“We want to establish our University as an internationally recognized institution and to increase its visibility to ensure it has worldwide appeal for the ‘best minds.’”
We are intensifying our collaboration with select partner universities and networks to ensure our active performance in the worldwide scientific community. Together with our partners in the DRESDEN-concept research alliance, we are taking measures improve Dresden's standing as a scientific location and to make our University more visible both within Germany and on the international stage. We are making a name for ourselves as an excellent university in the global competition for the brightest minds.
Our Internationalization Strategy and the path to its implementation
On the basis of the above mentioned strategic goals, the University Executive Board passed the current Internationalization Strategy.
Over the coming years, and with the aid of a catalogue of measures developed simultaneously, we will work at both central and decentralized levels to continue to make these goals a reality. This process is supported by the Vice-Rector University Culture and Internationalization.
At the five TUD Schools, decentralized strategy papers have been developed which come under the above-mentioned heading, “TU Dresden – Connected to the World,” and which undertake to set relevant priorities for each School.
Decentralized strategy papers of the following schools are already available :
- School of Science
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- School of Medicine
As part of the Institutional Strategy, TUD has made a variety of funding programs available for the implementation of the internationalization strategy as well as individual measures.
Statistics on the Internationalization Strategy
The Factbook Internationalization 2025 of Technische Universität Dresden provides a concise, data-driven overview of key developments and achievements in internationalization across studies, teaching, research, and staff.
It highlights trends, progress, and areas for action—from a growing international student body and strategic partnerships to globally visible research—making the university’s international dimension clear at a glance. The most important key figures are listed under Facts and Figures.
Contacts
- Vice-Rector University Culture and Internationalization
- International Office
- Teams Strategy and Internationalization (International Office)
- DRESDEN-concept Welcome Center at TUD
- European Project Center (EPC)
- Unit 9.3 Diversity Management
Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Free State of Saxony under the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder