In international comparison, TU Dresden is among the top 10 in Europe in terms of patent applications. It is ranked 8^th in this category. Other German universities among the top ten are TU Munich (placed 6^th) and KIT Karlsruhe (placed 10^th). In global comparison, TUD achieved the second highest number of international patent applications among German universities. Among the 1,767 universities assessed, TUD took an excellent 34^th place. TU Munich is ranked 20^th worldwide and KIT Karlsruhe is ranked 39^th. This is the result of the current study by the German Economic Institute (IW) on international patent applications from academia.

With TU Dresden having been confirmed by the German Economic Institute once again this summer as having by far the greatest patent strength among German universities – measured by the total number of all national and international patent applications – this result is proof of its outstanding research and innovation prowess, even on an international level. What is significant in terms of innovative capacity is that only those patent applications were fully taken into account in the present study that were filed by the respective university as the first applicant. Joint patents, e.g. with companies, are only included in the ranking at half their respective value. During the 2017-2021 survey period, TUD registered a total of 163 international patents.

“The fact that we hold the most patents is evidence of the outstanding development of TU Dresden, both with regard to excellent research and innovations with international visibility. The result encourages us to continue intensifying our technology transfer and spin-off activities in close cooperation with the Free State of Saxony,” says Prof. Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TUD. 

“With the TUD|excite Center of Excellence for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship, which we opened on our campus last year, we have a top-class innovative institution that has already launched many groundbreaking initiatives for excellent transfer. The results in the current ranking of the German Economic Institute show us that we are on the right track,” adds Prof. Ronald Tetzlaff, Chief Officer Technology Transfer and Internationalization at TUD.     

“The ranking is an excellent motivation for us to further increase our efforts in the areas of scientific innovation and entrepreneurial thinking and to provide our researchers with the best possible support in implementing their innovative ideas,” says Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, Director of the TUD|excite Center of Excellence for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship, pleased with TUD's strong international performance.

Research strength, entrepreneurial thinking and holistic support for inventions and start-ups

Researchers at TU Dresden receive comprehensive support from the new TUD|excite Center of Excellence when it comes to developing ideas, patent information (PIZ) and patent registration (excite|Patents), as well as the validation and partnering of innovative projects with existing companies (excite|Innovate) or their commercial exploitation through spin-offs from TU Dresden (excite|Start-ups and dresden|exists). Patents are a central link in TUD's innovation chain, which will be further strengthened and improved by the activities of TUD|excite.

Contact:

Prof. Andreas Pinkwart
TUD|excite
Tel. +49 351 463-33887
Mail: