Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH Aachen University) was established in 1870 and with its 47,173 students enrolled in 150 degree programs is the largest technical university in Germany. More than  6,700 students and more than 1000 doctoral students graduate annually from RWTH Aachen University. The high number of foreign students (10,590 students from 137 countries), as well as the great international network (of formalized collaborations) with over 100 universities worldwide, highlight the university’s strong international reputation. The university counts more than 553 professors as well as more than 6,127 academic and more than 2,939 non‐academic staff members. The university’s annual budget amounts to 1.049M€, with about 403.7M€ covered through external funding.

RWTH Aachen University is composed of 260 institutes spread over nine faculties. The university offers 36 graduate programs among which ten are so called Research Training Groups funded by the German Research Foundation. RWTH Aachen University is one of 11 German Universities of Excellence and additionally has received funding for three clusters of excellence through the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The university has always had strong ties with industry, creating one of Germany’s hubs for university spin-off companies and engineering firms. The fact that RWTH Aachen University closely collaborates with 17 affiliated institutes with strong industrial alignment and that 7 Fraunhofer institutes and 2 Leibniz institute are hosted here along with several cooperations with the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, illustrates the university’s considerable research portfolio and potential.