Overview of Nuremberg technology region

Nuremberg high-tech region

Nuremberg and the region have developed into a high-tech region on the basis of their industrial tradition in electrical, mechanical and automotive engineering. The Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg as the second largest university in Bavaria and the research institutions, headed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuit IIS as the biggest Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, play a significant role here. The quality and practical relevance of the regional university landscape are constantly shown by the above-average research funds available. Successful application-oriented research projects prove the close cooperation between companies and local university institutes. An outstanding number of patent applications per professor illustrates the high degree of innovation of university research in the region. The key technologies in the region are in the fields of information and communication technology, energy technology and mechatronics, medical technology and pharmaceutics, new materials, transport and logistics. The Nuremberg region has the scientific, engineering and business excellence to occupy a leading position in these fields throughout Germany and Europe.

The Nuremberg location is among the top ten high-tech regions in Germany in several location rankings that compare the technological efficiency of regions based on a wide range of indicators.

Many jobs in the high-tech sector

Eurostat, the EU statisticians in Luxembourg, have examined the 211 European planning regions in terms of their technological efficiency. On the basis of the percentage of jobs in high-tech industries, the Nuremberg region (Central Franconia) holds 6th place among the 15 leading high-technology regions throughout Europe.

Technological efficiency

The noted research institute Prognos AG in Basel has analyzed the high-tech profiles of the 97 planning regions in Germany in detail. The study published in September 2002 again confirms a top position for the Nuremberg region among the potent economic conurbations in Germany. Nuremberg is one of five regions in Germany to receive a top mark of 1 for technological efficiency. The Nuremberg region ranks 4th of 97 economic regions in this study, which means it has climbed three places compared with the last study in 2000.

The Cologne research institute Empirica Delasasse has examined 214 European regions for their economic potential. The Nuremberg region finished in position 4 in the top group of German economic regions in the overall rating, beaten only by Munich, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. Nuremberg also has no cause to fear comparison of locations on a European-wide basis. Nuremberg in position 28 of the 214 regions examined is up front and in the excellent company of Europe's most noted economic centers.

One of the top regions on the German invention scene

The Nuremberg region is in the top group of regions with the most natural science and engineering inventions and patent applications. 30 percent of all German patent applications (over 40,000 in 2000) are concentrated on the five regions of Stuttgart, Munich, Düsseldorf, Rhine-Main and the industrial region of Central Franconia. Nuremberg and the region with 1,267 patent applications in 2000 finished after the Rhine-Main region in fifth place among all 97 planning regions in Germany, with over 80 % of the patents being registered by industrial companies. The remainder were distributed among science and the freelance inventors. More informative than the absolute figures, however, is the patent density, that is, the ratio of the number of patents to the population. The Nuremberg region with 100 patent applications per 100,000 inhabitants moves up to 3rd place after Stuttgart and Munich. The region also registered a distinct rise in patent activities in the period from 1995 to 2000 with 27 % growth.

Contact

Bernd Schostok

Office for Economic Development, City of Nuremberg

Tel. +49 (0) 911 231-62 60

E-Mail: bernd.schostok@stadt.nuernberg.de