Founded in 1743, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg is one of the largest universities in Germany with five faculties and around 600 professorships. Over 210 million euros of third-party funding (2019), more than 70 million euros of which comes from industry demonstrates the University’s strength in research. FAU is dedicated to research into the most important issues affecting society today and in the future through its interdisciplinary key research priorities such as Future Energy Systems, Optical Technologies and Medical Engineering that connect research at the faculties and represent the entire spectrum of academic disciplines offered by the University. Strategic topics such as artificial intelligence which involves over 70 professorships from Computer Science and Engineering to Sociology and Law are top of the agenda at FAU.
Through its collaborative activities, the University has developed strong partnerships with top global companies such as Siemens, Audi or adidas and partnerships with external research institutes such as the Max Planck Society, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Helmholtz Association and the Leibniz Association. This close collaboration ensures findings from research are transferred quickly to practical applications. Applied research at FAU also benefits innovative startups, as the University is founder and the largest partner of one of the most successful tech incubators in Germany, Zollhof, in the centre of Nuremberg.
FAU offers excellence in teaching to its students who come from all over the world. True to the University’s motto of ‘Knowledge in Motion’, the close connection between research and teaching ensures current research findings are also transferred into the curriculum. With around 260 degree programmes, including 50 programmes that have been developed for international students, FAU offers a wide and interdisciplinary range of programmes at all qualification levels. FAU students also enjoy global mobility thanks to partnerships with higher education institutions throughout the world.
FAU’s two main sites, the cities of Erlangen and Nuremberg, are located at the heart of the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region. Both Erlangen, a bicycle-friendly city with 100,000 inhabitants, former home of the Huguenots as well as a key location for Siemens, and Nuremberg, a city with a population of half a million and a metropolitan flair, have their own unique charms. The opera, theatre, cabaret and museums, various sporting and leisure activities along with a lively pub scene and night life, offer plenty of opportunities to relax after a day in the lecture theatre, lab or library. The mixture of academia, innovative companies, art and culture makes the region the perfect place for creative minds, keen athletes and nature lovers.