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| RWTH Aachen Faculty of Electrical Engineering | |
|---|---|
| Name | Faculty of Electrical Engineering |
| Native name | Fakultät für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik |
| Established | 1961 |
| Type | Faculty |
| Faculty | ~180 |
| Students | ~2,200 |
| City | Aachen |
| Country | Germany |
| Parent | RWTH Aachen University |
RWTH Aachen Faculty of Electrical Engineering The Faculty of Electrical Engineering at RWTH Aachen is a major European center for research and teaching in electrical engineering, information technology, and related applied sciences. It operates within a network of universities and research organizations and maintains partnerships with industry leaders, interdisciplinary institutes, and international consortia. The faculty combines classical electrical engineering with contemporary fields, linking historical institutions and modern research centers.
Founded during a period of postwar technological expansion, the faculty traces roots to earlier technical education traditions in Aachen and the evolution of RWTH Aachen University into a technical university of international renown. Early collaborations involved regional firms and national laboratories such as Siemens AG, AEG, and research organizations like Fraunhofer Society and Max Planck Society. During the Cold War era the faculty engaged in projects with institutions including Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and NATO research programs, later expanding into European frameworks such as Horizon 2020 and the European Research Council. Key infrastructural expansions coincided with federal initiatives similar to those at Technische Universität München and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, aligning faculty growth with German reunification-era investments and Bologna Process reforms. Over decades the faculty has hosted visiting scholars from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Imperial College London, and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, enhancing its global footprint.
The faculty is organized into multiple institutes and chairs reflecting traditional and emerging subfields. Departments and institutes include those oriented toward Power Electronics, Communications Engineering, Control Systems, and Microelectronics—each linked administratively to chairs and independent research groups. Organizational units collaborate with centers such as JARA and national hubs like Helmholtz Association facilities. Governance involves elected deans and advisory boards with stakeholders from entities such as Deutsche Telekom, Robert Bosch GmbH, Volkswagen, Ford Motor Company, and European agencies including European Space Agency. Joint appointments and cross-institutional professorships mirror models seen at ETH Zurich and Delft University of Technology, while graduate schools coordinate doctoral training with institutions like Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Technical University of Munich.
Degree programs span undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels aligned with international frameworks such as the Bologna Process. Areas of instruction include Electric Power Systems, Communications and Signal Processing, Automated Control, Embedded Systems, and Nanotechnology—prepared in collaboration with partners like Infineon Technologies, Intel, NXP Semiconductors, Bosch, and ABB. Dual-degree and exchange arrangements exist with universities including University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, and Sorbonne University. Professional education and executive programs attract participants from corporations like Siemens and Daimler AG, while habilitation tracks follow German academic standards used by institutions such as University of Stuttgart.
Research is concentrated in dedicated institutes and collaborative centers. Notable units mirror structures like the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS and include internal centers for Power Electronics, Information and Communication Technology, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science. The faculty contributes to flagship projects funded by agencies such as German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and participates in consortia with CERN, ESA, European Space Agency, and pan-European initiatives including Graphene Flagship and CleanSky. Collaborative nodes connect with national centers like Leibniz Association institutes and industry research labs run by Siemens Healthineers and ABB.
Facilities include cleanrooms, high-voltage labs, anechoic chambers, microfabrication suites, and testbeds for autonomous systems. Specialized laboratories house equipment comparable to setups at Fraunhofer centers and national metrology labs like Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. Campus infrastructure integrates with city and regional resources including the Aachen Innovation Campus and nearby research parks. Shared facilities support interdisciplinary work with faculties such as Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Physics and enable large-scale experiments comparable to those at DESY and Max Planck Institutes.
The faculty maintains strong industry ties through sponsored research, joint labs, startups, and technology transfer offices akin to models at Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Spin-offs and startups emerging from faculty research have sought venture financing and incubation through partners like High-Tech Gründerfonds, EIT Digital, and regional accelerators. Contract research agreements and long-term partnerships exist with corporations such as Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Bosch, Schneider Electric, and NXP Semiconductors, while EU-funded collaborative projects link the faculty with consortia of companies including Airbus and Thales.
Faculty and alumni include professors, inventors, and industry leaders who have joined institutions and companies such as Siemens AG, BOSCH, BMW, Intel Corporation, NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, ABB, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Google, Microsoft Research, IBM, SAP SE, Airbus, Thales Group, ZF Friedrichshafen, Ford Motor Company, Daimler AG, Huawei, Toshiba, Sony, Hitachi, Schneider Electric, Rheinmetall, Valeo, E.ON, RWE, VDE, IEEE, ACM, Royal Academy of Engineering, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and leaders who have taken positions at universities like TU Delft and EPFL. Awards and honors received by affiliates include recognitions from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, European Research Council, IEEE Fellows, and national orders akin to those awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany.