Technische Universität Berlin facts for kids
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| Motto |
Wir haben die Ideen für die Zukunft. Zum Nutzen der Gesellschaft.
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Motto in English
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We've got the brains for the future. For the benefit of society. |
| Type | Public |
| Established |
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| Affiliation | TIME, TU9, EUA, CESAER, DFG, SEFI, PEGASUS, German Excellence Universities, Berlin University Alliance |
| Budget | €659.3 million (2022) |
| President | Geraldine Rauch (since 2022) |
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Academic staff
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3,120 |
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Administrative staff
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2,258 |
| Students | 35,570 |
| Location |
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Germany
52°30′43″N 13°19′35″E / 52.51194°N 13.32639°E |
| Campus | Urban |
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The Technische Universität Berlin (often called TU Berlin or Berlin Institute of Technology) is a big public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was the first German university to use the name "Technische Universität," which means "University of Technology."
Many famous people have studied or worked at TU Berlin. This includes members of the United States National Academies, two winners of the National Medal of Science, and ten Nobel Prize winners. One very important person was Konrad Zuse, who created the first working programmable computer!
TU Berlin is part of TU9, a group of Germany's biggest and best technology universities. It's also part of the Top International Managers in Engineering (TIME) network, which helps students study abroad at other top engineering schools. The university is known as "The Entrepreneurial University" because it helps students start their own businesses.
This university was the first to offer a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management. This course teaches students both technical skills and how to manage a company. It started in 1926 and is one of the oldest programs of its kind.
TU Berlin has a lot of international students, with almost 27% coming from other countries in 2019. It's also part of the Berlin University Alliance and has been named a "University of Excellence," meaning it gets special funding for its great research.
Contents
A Look at TU Berlin's History
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The TU Berlin we know today started on April 1, 1879. It was formed by joining two older schools: the Royal Trade Academy (started in 1827) and the Royal Building Academy (started in 1799).
In 1899, the Royal Technical Academy of Berlin became the first technical university in Germany to offer doctorate degrees. This was a big step, as it meant students could get the highest academic degree there.
Later, in 1916, the Royal Mining Academy of Berlin (which started way back in 1770!) also joined the university.
After Berlin grew bigger in 1920, the university's name changed to "Technische Hochschule zu Berlin." During the 1930s, there were plans to expand the campus. However, these plans were stopped when World War II began.
Part of the main university building was damaged during a bombing in November 1943. The university had to close on April 20, 1945, because of fighting in Berlin. But planning to reopen started quickly, and the university officially opened again on April 9, 1946. This time, it was given its current name: "Technische Universität Berlin."
Since 2009, TU Berlin has been home to two special innovation centers. These centers are part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
What's in a Name?
The university has a special rule: its official name, Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), should always be used, even in other countries. It's not supposed to be translated into English. This helps everyone recognize the university by its unique German name.
Exploring the Campus
The TU Berlin campus is very large, covering about 604,000 square meters (that's like 150 football fields!). It's spread out in different parts of Berlin.
The main campus is in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf area of Berlin. In October 2015, about 33,933 students were studying 90 different subjects across the university's seven main schools.
From 2012 to 2022, TU Berlin also had a campus in El Gouna, Egypt. This campus offered some of the university's courses by the Red Sea. The university also has a program called Global Production Engineering and Management at the Vietnamese-German University in Ho Chi Minh City.
How TU Berlin is Organized
Since 2002, TU Berlin has been divided into seven main faculties, which are like different colleges or departments:
- Faculty I – Humanities and Educational Sciences (This includes subjects like history, philosophy, art, and communication.)
- Faculty II – Mathematics and Natural Sciences (Here you'll find chemistry, physics, and math.)
- Faculty III – Process Sciences (This faculty focuses on things like biotechnology, energy, food technology, and environmental studies.)
- Faculty IV – Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (This is where you learn about computers, electronics, and telecommunications.)
- Faculty V – Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems (This covers cars, planes, ships, and how machines work.)
- Faculty VI – Planning Building Environment (This includes architecture, civil engineering, landscape architecture, and urban planning.)
- Faculty VII – Economics and Management (Here you study business, economics, and law.)
There's also a School of Education (SETUB) and the Central Institute El Gouna.
Teachers and Students
In 2015, about 8,455 people worked at TU Berlin. This included 338 professors and many researchers and staff who help run the university. There were also many student helpers and trainees.
Students can also study abroad through programs like ERASMUS programme or the Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME) network.
The University Library
The main library for TU Berlin and the Berlin University of the Arts opened in 2004. It's a huge library with about 2.9 million books! Part of the library building was funded by Volkswagen, so it's sometimes called the "University Library of the TU Berlin and UdK (in the Volkswagen building)."
While many smaller libraries joined to form this big main one, some departments still have their own libraries. For example, the Economics and Management school has a library with 340,000 books.
Famous People from TU Berlin
Many amazing people have studied or taught at TU Berlin and its older schools. Here are just a few:
- Carl Bosch (1874–1940): A chemist who won the Nobel Prize in 1931.
- Wernher von Braun (1912–1977): An engineer who designed rockets, including the V-2 rocket and later rockets for NASA that went to the Moon.
- Dennis Gabor (1900–1971): A physicist who invented holography and won the Nobel Prize in 1971.
- Fritz Haber (1868–1934): A chemist who won the Nobel Prize in 1918.
- George de Hevesy (1885–1966): A chemist who won the Nobel Prize in 1943.
- Gustav Ludwig Hertz (1887–1975): A physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1925.
- Hugo Junkers (1859–1935): He founded Junkers & Co, a big German aircraft company.
- Diébédo Francis Kéré (born 1965): A famous architect.
- Konrad Zuse (1910–1995): He designed the first modern computer and the first high-level programming language.
- Wolfgang Paul (1913–1993): A physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1989.
- Ernst Ruska (1906–1988): A physicist who invented the electron microscope and won the Nobel Prize in 1986.
- Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841): A very important architect.
- Reinhard Selten (1930–2016): He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1994.
- Fritz Sennheiser (1912–2010): He founded the famous audio company Sennheiser.
- Eugene Wigner (1902–1995): A physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1963.
- Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu (1887–1973): A chemist who graduated in 1912 and was a pioneer for women in engineering.
University Rankings
Universities are often ranked to see how they compare globally. Here's how TU Berlin has been ranked:
- The QS World University Rankings for 2025 placed TU Berlin at 147th in the world. This makes it the 8th best university in Germany.
- The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2024 ranked TU Berlin between 136th globally and 12th-13th in Germany.
- The Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2023 put TU Berlin in the top 201-300 universities worldwide and 10th-19th in Germany.
In 2019, TU Berlin was ranked 11th in Germany for producing top managers in the German economy.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) looks at the quality of research. In their 2018 report, TU Berlin was ranked 24th among all German universities for research across all subjects. It was especially strong in natural sciences and engineering (9th place), computer science (14th place), and electrical engineering (5th place).
In 2017, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings also showed TU Berlin was among the top universities for Engineering & Technology (40th globally, 3rd in Germany) and Computer Science (36th globally, 4th in Germany).
