Promotion of research and transfer of technology
External contributions through promotional funding from the European Union, from Federal States and the federal government play an important role for many areas of science today. Without this funding, many research projects carried out in universities would no longer be feasible. In Germany, the TUM stands in the forefront in recruiting these funds. This can be verified in numerous rankings, e.g. in the DFG promotional ranking. From the basic research carried out by the TUM, a step has been made toward application-oriented research in many areas, frequently in cooperation with businesses. Hereby, property rights and patents play an important role.
The TUM ForTe - Office for Research and Innovation advises researches professionally and comprehensively in matters of national and international research funding and transfer of technology. TUM ForTe also harbours the staff unit Excellence Initiative, which is responsible for the implementation of the 3. funding line, and the coordination with the 1. funding line (Graduate Schools) and the 2. funding line (Clusters of Excellence). It also coordinates the proposals for the next round of the Excellence Initiative.