Discover Darmstadt
the City of Science

I bet lots of you don't immediately think of Darmstadt when you think about top-level research and innovation. Well if I’m honest, neither did I. Before I came to TU Darmstadt, I didn’t know very much about what cool new ideas are being developed here. But if you want to learn more about this metropolis in southern Hessen and the city of science, then you’re in the right place.

Published:

Laura,
Cognitive Science B.Sc.

Darmstadt is a super innovative city. It just seems like every corner, has some new project going on. This is also happening every day at TU Darmstadt! So much is happening here that could play an important role in the future, and we get to experience it close-up.

Portraitfoto Laura
Picture: Britta Hüning

Off to Germany’s Silicon Valley

When you think of techies, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, you’re probably picturing some giant computer industry in Silicon Valley. That's actually exactly how I felt until I found out that a lot of interesting companies and start-ups in the fields of cyber security, digitalisation, and artificial intelligence are located in Darmstadt. That's why TU Darmstadt is definitely the place to be for master’s students from abroad.

It’s not for nothing that Darmstadt was awarded the title of Digital City even back in 2017 by the Bitkom digital association and is considered part of German Silicon Valley – and TU Darmstadt is one of the reasons why! The university encourages students to put their own ideas into practise after graduating and to start their own start-ups in the southern Hessen metropolis. I absolutely love the atmosphere! Before I studied Cognitive Science, I had no idea how far Artificial Intelligence (AI) had already come. Did you know that it’s possible for some types of AI to read facial expressions, for example? Insanely exciting…

By the way, I’m not the only one with a high opinion of Darmstadt! WirtschaftsWoche (WiWo) magazine, in cooperation with the German Economic Institute (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft), named Darmstadt the “City of the Future” for the fifth time in a row in 2019.

Research collaboration and strategic alliances at TU Darmstadt

TU Darmstadt leads the field when it comes to collaborative research with prominent companies and organisations – and they even reach beyond the German borders! These joint projects provide important momentum in both basic and applied research and guarantee that important research results are put into practise.

In order to exploit the full potential of these joint projects, TU Darmstadt strives for long-term research collaboration in the form of strategic partnerships. These partnerships not only cover various collaborative projects and research groups at TU Darmstadt, but usually involve several departments and faculties. TU Darmstadt currently has active strategic alliances with Merck, Deutsche Bahn, Continental, Bosch and Siemens.

Artificial intelligence? TU Darmstadt comes out on top

Sure, most of you have probably heard the term artificial intelligence (AI). But what does it actually mean these days? AI generally refers to the attempt to write computer programmes so that they can solve problems practically independently. TU Darmstadt is at the forefront of AI research, has an excellent international reputation, and also believes wholeheartedly in interdisciplinarity. This is how TU Darmstadt can harness the full potential of AI research and do justice to the high level of social and economic significance that, AI has come to have around the world in the meantime.

Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a fan of TU Darmstadt and called it “a jewel in the field of artificial intelligence”. Impressive, right? But of course, TU Darmstadt has even more to boast about in the field of computer science!

Even the machines learn digitally here

Anyone who is considering getting a master's degree in computer science should definitely have a look at TU Darmstadt. There’s a lot happening here and you’ll be part of a super innovative environment. TU Darmstadt is renowned for its research both in Europe and all over the world.

TU Darmstadt is involved in cutting edge research projects on machine learning and controlling robots and machines. Not only do students learn in a digital environment in Darmstadt, so do the machines! I think it’s pretty cool that the intelligent search and rescue robots that have been developed at TU Darmstadt regularly win first place at international competitions. Pretty awesome, right? I would totally love to work on a project like that.

German Silicon Valley

In an international comparison, German Silicon Valley is one of the leading places s for information and communication technology (ICT) and high-tech industry worldwide. The Rhine-Main-Neckar IT cluster is one of the world's leading IT regions and can hold its own with Silicon Valley in the US or Bangalore (Bengaluru) in India. In the regions that surround centres of software development, i.e. Darmstadt, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Saarbrücken, and Walldorf, more than 134,000 employees work for over 11,000 software companies. The Faculty of Computer Science and other departments at TU Darmstadt, as well as other research institutes in the region, are training the next generation of highly qualified professionals.

So, you can see that Darmstadt is continuing to expand its attractiveness as a centre of information technology in Central Europe. In addition to TU Darmstadt, prominent software companies such as SAP, Software AG and T-Systems are also located here.

Surfing the net safely

TU Darmstadt puts a lot of emphasis on interdisciplinarity. And CYSEC, the cyber security profile research area, is the best evidence of this. Scientists from 33 different areas work here on cyber security and privacy protection. The departments of physics, electrical engineering and information technology, social and historical sciences, biology, human sciences, mechanical engineering, law, and economics are all involved in CYSEC and are working together on lots of projects. Pretty fascinating, right? Once you know a little bit about it, you find out that your own university is doing top-level research at an internationally recognised level.

And the subjects that CYSEC is investigating are really interesting for all of us who work with computers or use the internet: the security of mobile and cyber physical systems, the security of the internet and critical infrastructures, secure software systems, verifiable security, the usability of security solutions for users, plus economic, social and ethical aspects of cyber security.

Well, was I successful in piquing your interest about CYSEC and TU Darmstadt? Then maybe a degree in computer science is just the right thing for you! With this degree you will be a highly specialised IT professional. It will open doors to national and international collaboration with research institutes, such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT) and industrial partnerships. You’ll also be able to consult for the government or non-profit and industrial sectors. You can’t get much more future-looking than that!

Want to learn more about the master's degree programmes at TU Darmstadt? Then take a look at the department and faculty descriptions and you can contact the student course advisors if you have specific questions about a degree programme. For general questions about admissions, you should ask the team at the Central Student Advisory Service and Orientation. While you’re doing your degree, you can also study abroad and even do a double degree – a programme where you get two degrees from two universities. The International Relations & Mobility Office will be happy to answer all your questions quickly and with no obligation.

Portraitfoto Laura
Picture: Britta Hüning

Laura

Ciao! I am Laura and I am majoring in Cognitive Science. I think my degree programme is amazing: I deal with the interfaces between humans and computers every day and I am diving deeper and deeper into the topic of artificial intelligence. This exciting combination of IT and psychology immediately convinced me to study Cognitive Science in Darmstadt.