In top form for the future

TUM remains University of Excellence

The TUM Agenda 2030 is centered around the development of talent and competencies on all levels. This is reflected in the realignment of engineering education to embrace the concept of human-centered engineering (approx. 31 million euros), integrated into massive restructuring efforts in the humanities and social sciences and the establishment of the interdisciplinary institutes for Technology Design, Data Science and Life Long Learning. By re-anchoring the idea of "German engineering", with its sterling reputation, within the process of societal transformation, TUM is blazing a new trail in the German university landscape. The Munich Center for Technology in Society (MCTS), established after the success in the 2012 Excellence Initiative, will play a key role in that regard.

The new governance structures will bring about extensive substantive and organizational changes to promote a stronger international presence and more interdisciplinary activity: The familiar 15 departments will be replaced by seven schools that will widen TUM's radius of action at the interfaces of the classical disciplines. With the TUM Innovation Networks (16 million euros), research-driven thematic areas will be established to place the focus of engineering and medical research on the big challenges facing society. TUM's successful medical activities (university hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar, German Heart Center) will be positioned within a matrix structure encompassing the full range of fields covered by TUM, along with medical research conducted outside academia.

The research administration functions at TUM are leaving behind their established procedures in favor of a more customer-focused, digital and international approach, inspired by the dynamic developments in scientific research at TUM and the university's global networking. For this purpose, TUM will invest approximately 9 million euros. Under the Maximilian Graf Montgelas Program, administrative personnel will have the opportunity to gain international experience through postings abroad. TUM is also establishing a university marketing function from the ground up – the first of its kind in German academia. It will also integrate the existing national and international scientific communication activities (5 million euros)

Two decades after the successful creation of the Asian network (including TUM.Asia in Singapore, starting in 2001), TUM is directing its attention to Europe (e.g. TUM.London) and is also mounting a concerted effort to establish a presence on the African continent (TUM.Africa). The renowned Imperial College London will play a key role in TUM's European alliance structure from this time onward.

Leading-edge international research will be promoted with 4.5 million euros in funding for the existing, highly successful TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS). Meanwhile, the new Angela Molitoris Program will receive 10 million euros from the TUM budget to invest in the advancement of women (outstanding students, academic staff and professors). Meanwhile, CareerDesign@TUM points the way forward for German universities: This innovative career program will help to spot talent in mid-level academic functions with the support of the Institute for Life Long Learning, which also addresses the needs of alumni in the career world in the age of rapid digitalization and biologization of engineering sciences.

The extraordinary academic and entrepreneurial environment in the European metropolitan region of Munich is the basis for the thematic focus of the ONE MUNICH strategy. "Competition no longer takes place between individual universities, but rather between locations and regions," said future TUM President Thomas Hofmann. "Munich can easily compete with Berlin or even regions like Boston and San Francisco." Munich's two top universities, TUM and LMU, coordinate their regional alliance at the presidential level. The alliance, which has been proving its worth in terms of research for years, is now being placed on a strategic footing.

To achieve its ambitious goals and generate beneficial effects for the entire German university system, TUM will also make substantial investments with its own funds in TUM Agenda 2030, which will be the most far-reaching transformation process in its 150-year history. For the entire project, a total of over 270 million euros is budgeted.