RWTH Aachen Named Germany's Best University
In the latest university rankings list published in April 2012 by the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche, human resources managers of the largest German corporations again ranked RWTH Aachen as the best German university. Asked about their preferred university for the recruitment of graduates, the HR managers ranked RWTH first in the fields of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Business and Engineering. In the field of Computer Science, RWTH was ranked second, moving up from last year's third place.
Provision of a Practice-Based Education
RWTH Rector Ernst Schmachtenberg considers the excellent qualification of RWTH graduates to be the basis for the success in the ranking, which is due, among other things, to the high degree of professional relevance of the degree programs and the incorporation of R&D project work into the curricula.
Apart from offering a practice-oriented education, the University has excellent contacts to partners from business and industry, which makes it possible continuously to adjust the education and training of students to the requirements of the economy.
Business-Funded Scholarships for RWTH Students
Schmachtenberg emphasizes that it is the companies themselves that help to achieve such results: For the third time now, RWTH has been the most successful German university in terms of raising scholarship funds. For its Education Fund, a scholarship program in collaboration with the federal and state governments, RWTH was able to raise more than €1 million in funding from companies and private individuals.
In this way, about 700 students can be supported with a one-year scholarship, including a monthly stipend of €300. "This support makes it possible for students to worry less about financial matters, so they can fully concentrate on their studies and may even get the chance to embark on a period of study abroad," says Schmachtenberg. In the medium term, he hopes the University will be able to provide 10 percent of its students with such a scholarship.
Goals for the Future The excellent ranking result demonstrates that RWTH is on a good path towards achieving the goals defined by its institutional strategy, formulated in the context of Germany's Excellence Initiative: According to Schmachtenberg, "By 2020, RWTH shall be one of the best integrated, interdisciplinary universities of technology worldwide."
The university ranking survey was conducted by WirtschaftsWoche in collaboration with the Universum Communications consulting agency and the recruiting services provider Access KellyOCG. The full report is published in the 7 April edition of the magazine; German-speaking audiences may also refer to a short summary report provided by WirtschaftsWoche Online: Deutschland's beste Universitäten.