RWTH Aachen University (German) or Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachenis a public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 45,000 students enrolled in 144 study programs, it is the largest technical university in Germany.^[3]/sup>[4]

Since 2007, RWTH Aachen has been continuously funded by the DFG and the German Council of Science and Humanities as one of eleven (previously nine) German Universities of Excellence for its future concept RWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challenges and the follow-up concept The Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology: Knowledge, Impact, Networks, also receiving grants for associated graduate schools and clusters of excellence. The university regularly accounts for the highest amount of third-party funds among all German universities, placing first per faculty member and second overall in the most recent survey from 2018.

RWTH Aachen is a founding member of IDEA League, a strategic alliance of five leading universities of technology in Europe, as well as its German counterpart TU9. It is also a member of DFG and the Top Industrial Managers for Europe network.

The Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments provided RWTH with a unique opportunity to boost its research profile by strengthening the natural sciences and fostering interdisciplinary research. These were the first steps in RWTH’s steady transformation into an Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Technology and also towards convergence.

Topics include sustainable synthetic fuels, data mining, computational science, production technology, high-performance materials, health, renewable resources and mobility.

The successful implementation of the institutional strategy is reflected in the reputation of RWTH’s graduates, the; exceptional position of the University regarding acquisition of peer-reviewed third party funds and the RWTH Aachen Campus.

The RWTH Aachen Campus visibly highlights the research prowess of the University. The entrepreneurial mindset and collaboration with industry partners fostered on the Campus benefit both students and employees of RWTH.

The many stimulating ideas are already having an impact in Aachen and the entire tri-border region of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. An innovative knowledge community is evolving that is closely networked with some of the world’s leading research and industry