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German Research Landscape

Science and research in Germany are characterized by a multi-faceted infrastructure, a wide variety of disciplines, well-equipped research facilities and competent staff. Germany has various types of research locations: universities, universities of applied sciences, non-university institutes, companies and Federal as well as Länder institutions. All in all, there are approximately 750 publicly-funded research institutions in Germany, as well as research and development centers run by industrial corporations. In selected fields or regions, these industrial and academic institutions pool their research and development activities in networks and clusters.

Source: Research in Germany

  • Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

    Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

    The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (FhG) conducts applied research for private as well as public enterprises and for the general benefit ...

    The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (FhG) conducts applied research for private as well as public enterprises and for the general benefit of the public. It has more than 80 research units and is the largest organization for applied research in Europe. The Fraunhofer institutes conduct research under contract for industry, the service sector and public administration and also offer information and service features.

    More information about the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft can be found here.

     

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  • Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren e.V.

    Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren e.V.

    The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres provides top scientific achievements to society, science and industry to ...

    The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres provides top scientific achievements to society, science and industry to tackle major challenges they are confronted with. The Helmholtz Association integrates 17 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers and is the largest scientific organization in Germany.

    More information about the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres can be found here.

     

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  • Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V.

    Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V.

    The Max Planck Society (MPG) is an independent, non-profit research organisation named after the world-famous physicist Max Planck ...

    The Max Planck Society (MPG) is an independent, non-profit research organisation named after the world-famous physicist Max Planck (1858 - 1947). Primarily, the MPG performs basic research in natural science as well as in humanities, thus complementing research projects at universities.

    More information about the Max Planck Society can be found here.

     

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  • Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e. V.

    Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e. V.

    The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community (WGL), known as the Leibniz Association, is the umbrella organisation for 87 ...

    The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community (WGL), known as the Leibniz Association, is the umbrella organisation for 87 research institutions which address scientific issues of importance to society as a whole. It stands out for the enormous thematic diversity addressed by its institutes. The Leibniz research institutes provide infrastructure for science and research and perform research-based services – liaison, consultation, transfer – for the public, policy-makers, academia and business.

    More information about the Leibniz Association can be found here.

     

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  • Universities

    Universities

    Germany is home to almost 400 universities with a variety of disciplines. Academic formation is characterized by a close link ...

    Germany is home to almost 400 universities with a variety of disciplines. Academic formation is characterized by a close link between education and research. The Federal Government and the Länder have set up the Initiative for Excellence that is intended to support research activities in various disciplines at German universities.

    More information about universities and their research activities can be found here.

     

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  • Academies of Science

    Academies of Science

    The key mission of the German academies of science is the coordination and support of long-term basic research projects and the ...

    The key mission of the German academies of science is the coordination and support of long-term basic research projects and the development and cultivation of interdisciplinary dialogue. In addition, the academies provide society with advice on general and specific scientific issues.

    More information about the German academies of science, the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities can be found here.

     

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  • Federal Research Institutes

    Federal Research Institutes

    The Federal Government funds 38 research institutes that are under the leadership of the Federal Ministries. This departmental ...

    The Federal Government funds 38 research institutes that are under the leadership of the Federal Ministries. This departmental research is always directly related to the activity fields of a ministry. Its main task is to support the respective Federal Ministry’s activities and to provide the necessary scientific basis for the execution of sovereign tasks.

    More information about the federal research institutes can be found here.

     

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  • Laender Research Institutes

    Länder Research Institutes

    The Federal States of Germany ("Länder") act as research funding bodies, but they also run several research institutions which ...

    The Federal States of Germany ("Länder") act as research funding bodies, but they also run several research institutions which contribute to supporting the research activities of the Länder. There are more than 100 institutes covering a broad range of research areas.

    More information about the Länder research institutes can be found here.

     

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  • Companies / Industrial Research

    Companies/ Industrial Research

    German companies are among the most innovative in Europe. Industry based and financed investments account for almost two thirds of...

    German companies are among the most innovative in Europe. Industry based and financed investments account for almost two thirds of all R&D funding in Germany. Companies cooperate especially closely in the field of applied research, working together with globally operating Fraunhofer Institutes and the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations "Otto von Guericke" (AiF).

    More information about industrial research can be found here.

     

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  • German Federation of Industrial Research Associations - AiF

    The "German Federation of Industrial Research Associations" (AiF) was founded in 1954. As a registered non-profit association, the ...

    The "German Federation of Industrial Research Associations" (AiF) was founded in 1954. As a registered non-profit association, the AiF promotes research and development (R&D) in all industry sectors in favor of small and medium-sized enterprises. The association acts at the Federal as well as European levels.

    More information about the AiF can be found here.

     

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  • Networks and Clusters

    Networks and Clusters

    Over the last few years, the Federal Government has initiated a series of projects aimed at the creation of networks and clusters ...

    Over the last few years, the Federal Government has initiated a series of projects aiming at the creation of networks and clusters that promote new technologies. They pool both industry and academic institutions in their research and development activities. One key goal of these aggregations is to accelerate the process of making new technology products marketable.

    More information about different initiatives to promote networks and clusters can be found here.

     

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  • Research Infrastructures

    Research Infrastructures

    Germany is home to several research infrastructures with global significance in physics, earth science, climate research or the ...

    Germany is home to several research infrastructures with global significance in physics, earth science, climate research or the humanities. Examples of research infrastructures such as DESY - Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron and the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) can be found here.

     

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  • Research Explorer - A unique directory of German research institutes

    Research Explorer – A unique directory of German research institutes

    Research Explorer was developed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Research Foundation (DFG). It is a ...

    Research Explorer was developed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Research Foundation (DFG). It is a unique directory of German research institutions and has been available online since 2008. Research Explorer makes the German research landscape available to users from around the world. By providing consistent and structured information on German Higher Education Institutions and non-university research institutions in both German and English, it provides comprehensive information about these institutions and supports researchers in Germany and abroad in the search for cooperation partners or suitable institutions for research visits to Germany. Using regional or thematic criteria, it is possible to search through the 19,000 institutes at German Higher Education Institutions and non-university research institutions documented by Research Explorer. It is also possible to access current contact data and Internet addresses. The search can also be restricted to using an interactive cartographic representation.

    More information about the Research Explorer can be found here.

     

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