Jun 20, 2025
THE Impact Ranking: TUD maintains high ranking in research, transfer and third-party funding acquisition – and is present for the announcement at GSD Congress 2025
Dr. André Lindner, Executive Manager for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and International Affairs Advisor (2nd from left), was invited as a speaker to the GSD – where the THE Impact Ranking was announced
In the renowned Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking 2025, TUD Dresden University of Technology achieves another full score of 100 points in the SDG category Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, after climbing to the top group in 2024. This means that TUD continues to rank first in this Sustainable Development Goal (SDG for short). Out of the 1,156 ranked universities, only eleven others worldwide – including five from Germany – achieved the same top score.
The current results confirm the tremendous advances TUD has made in recent years, particularly in the areas of transfer, start-up funding, and collaboration with industry. This outstanding result is also an indicator of the success of our strategic focus on strengthening knowledge and technology transfer and contributing to a more sustainable society.
The Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure SDG category, with which TUD participated in the THE Impact Ranking, ranks achievements in research, transfer and third-party funding acquisition. This includes the number of TU Dresden research papers cited in patents and how many spin-offs have been established as start-ups. The amount of third-party funding that universities receive from industry is another factor.
Excellent research and effective transfer
TUD is one of the world's leading universities in terms of research and patents and, according to the latest survey by the German Economic Institute, is the university with the most patents in Germany. With the TUD|Excellence Center for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship (TUD|excite), the university has created a flourishing platform that bundles it's activities in research and transfer under one roof.
TUD at the Global Sustainable Development Congress
The results of the THE Impact Ranking were announced on June 17, 2025 at the Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) in Istanbul. TUD once again took part in the renowned conference this year. In addition, this year Dr. André Lindner, Executive Manager for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and International Affairs Advisor, co-hosted the panel discussion “Forging the Future: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders for a Sustainable World” alongside a colleague from EUTOPIA's global partner university Arizona State University (ASU).
The TUD stand was the setting for an intensive discussion on challenges and best practices on the path to becoming sustainable educational institutions. Our Advisor for Sustainability Management, Maike Heitkamp-Mai, took the opportunity to provide insights into TUD's Sustainability Strategy and the work of Directorate University Culture. In addition, TUD representatives presented the new collaboration with the “UNU Hub on Climate Resilience and Sustainable Technologies (CREST).” This will be used to establish an international and interdisciplinary hub for climate resilience and sustainable technologies in Dresden in close partnership with UNU-FLORES.