University research is mainly financed by third-party funding from research associations, foundations, federal and state ministries, either directly or via funding organizations such as the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) or the German Research Foundation (DFG), the European Union or industry.
In this sense, the acquisition of third-party funds by professors at a university is often highlighted by universities and colleges as a performance criterion.
Among German universities (excluding medical institutes/health sciences), the RWTH Aachen University (324 million euros), the TU München (299 million euros) and the TU Dresden (244 million euros) were the most successful in raising third-party funds in 2018. The highest third-party funding per professor was received by RWTH Aachen University (955,700 euros), TU München (741,000 euros) and Universität Stuttgart (643,700 euros) [1].
In its report, the University of Paderborn reports a total of 52.1 million euros in third-party funding for the year 2018 [2]. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering presents 14.6 million euros in total and an average of 809,488 euros in third-party funding for all professors [3].
In comparison, the Laboratory of Materials and Joining Technology (LWF) has raised third-party funds of 3.4 million euros in 2018 (+6% compared to the previous year), which is significantly above the average of third-party funds raised at RWTH Aachen University and the University of Paderborn or the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
The high level of funding for LWF research is based on the outstanding research profile of LWF in the fields of new and further development of mechanical, adhesive, thermal and hybrid joining techniques for joining high-performance materials in hybrid systems, as well as in the field of method development for joining in innovative production chains of lightweight construction, in which LWF has acquired a unique selling point far beyond national borders.
Sources
[1] Universitätsprofessorinnen und -professoren warben im Jahr 2018 mehr Drittmittel ein: +5,8 % gegenüber Vorjahr. [online], 2020, URL: https://www.destatis.de/DE/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2020/09/PD20_371_213.html, Statistisches Bundesamt, abgerufen am 15.10.2020
[2] Kurzportrait der Universität Paderborn. [online], 2019, URL: https://www.uni-paderborn.de/fileadmin/kurzportraet/Kurzportraet__2019.pdf, Universität Paderborn, abgerufen am 15.10.2020
[3] Jahresbericht 2018. [online], 2018, URL: https://mb.uni-paderborn.de/fileadmin/fakultaet/Infomaterial/Jahresberichte/UPB_JB2018_Maschinenbau_WEB.pdf, Fakultät für Maschinenbau, Universität Paderborn, abgerufen am 15.10.2020