Excellence at TUD

Jubilation among the Cluster speakers (from left to right) Prof. Viktor Mechtcherine, Prof. Yana Vaynzof, Prof. Matthias Vojta, Prof. Stephan Grill (for Prof. Otger Campàs) and Prof. Frank H. P. Fitzek © Sven Ellger/TUD

Sensational Success - five Clusters of Excellence have been approved

TUD has performed an outstanding feat in the Excellence Strategy of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science and Humanities Council (WR): An impressive five out of six submitted research projects were selected as Clusters of Excellence on May 22. The three existing clusters CeTI, ct.qmat (in future ctd.qmat) and PoL will continue to receive funding from 2026, and two new clusters will be added: CARE and REC².

But another thing that we can be especially proud of: TUD is the sole applicant for three of these clusters. Two clusters were submitted jointly with the University of Würzburg (ct.qmat/ctd.qmat) and RWTH Aachen University (CARE).

In light of this result, TUD is one of the five best universities in Germany and secures its place as the best technical university in this highly competitive process.

The areas of research that will receive funding are diverse and future-orientated:

• CARE: Climate-Neutral and Resource-Efficient Construction (TUD with RWTH Aachen)
• CeTI: Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop
• ctd.qmat: Complexity, Topology and Dynamics in Quantum Matter (TUD with Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg)
• PoL: Physics of Life. The Dynamic Organization of Living Matter
• REC²: Responsible Electronics in the Climate-Change Era

Rector Prof. Ursula Staudinger emphasized that the new funding phase with five Clusters of Excellence is an outstanding success and that TUD is continuing to climb the ranks as one of the top-performing universities in Germany. We are now diving head first into the next phase, which includes the on-site evaluation as a University of Excellence in November.

Emerging Field „Data-Intensive and Digital Science“

The emerging field “Data-Intensive and Digital Science” comprises research, teaching and infrastructure of TU Dresden in the corresponding key areas. In addition to the fundamental research on methods, the emerging field also covers applications of these in various disciplines like natural sciences, engineering sciences, biology and medicine.
 
Current key topics of the emerging field are:
Data Science, including Data Analysis, Data Management, Data Mining and Big Data, High-Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, including Deep Learning and Large Language Models, Computer Vision, Medical Image Analysis, and Robotics.
 
The dynamic growth of TUD in the area of Data-Intensive and Digital Science and the foundation of the Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Sciences (CIDS) has a persistent positive effect on the achievement of several overarching goals, including talent acquisition, digitalization of research and strengthening of research-oriented teaching in the key areas of this emerging field.

Doctoral Supervision? Excellent!

To raise awareness for the importance of good doctoral supervision, since 2017 the Graduate Academy (GA) has been awarding a prize for outstanding doctoral supervision. This year’s award goes to Prof. Inez Weidinger (Chair of Electrochemistry). TUD was one of the first universities in Germany to establish such an award. Not only the number of nominations submitted, but also the appreciative laudatory speeches underscore the excellent work being done in the supervision of doctoral students at the TUD.

Research Data Management in Core Facilities – Implementation and Further Development

The TUD Technology Platforms 4^th workshop, which addressed the issue of “Research Data Management in Core Facilities” took place on May 16. The Research Data Contact Point presented the results of a survey of the TUD's Core Facilities. The survey inquired into responsibilities for collected research data and the related support structures. Researchers then exchanged their experiences and needs in a large group. Denise Dörfel from the Research Data Contact Point presented a new consulting concept based on the results of the survey.

 

Excellence & Research Cluster

 

Programs & Calls for Proposals

 

Editors' Pick

Recording of the University-wide Inaugural Lecture by Prof. Ulrich Rant: Sensing Life's Interactions - From Single Cells to Single Molecules from May 15, 2025 © TUD