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Industry Collaboration Index

Industry Collaboration Index 2026 · University profile

University of Stuttgart

Germany · Europe · Gold

#271World rank of 1,038
64.3ICI scoreout of 100
#22National rank, of 57 in Germany
#118Regional rank, of 388 in Europe
805Verified industry works, 2021 to 2025
376Company groups worked with (122 on two or more works)

University of Stuttgart is ranked #271 of 1,038, with Gold standing. Its strongest pillar is co-creation (90): 805 verified industry works against about 504 expected for its mix of fields. It is held back most by breadth (16): partners concentrated in a few research fields.

Research Collaboration Index 2026: #690 of 1,195 · View the RCI profile →

Why this position

Four pillars, as percentiles

Co-creation30% of the score
90

How often it co-authors with companies, compared with what its own mix of research fields would predict; size makes no difference. 805 verified works against about 504 expected for its fields (1.60 times the expected rate).

Durability20% of the score
62

How much of its industry work sits in sustained partnerships with the same company group. 26 sustained partnerships: five or more joint works in three or more of the five years.

Scale30% of the score
71

The size of its industry network: company groups on two or more works, sustained partnerships, and its place in the worldwide network of universities and companies. 122 company groups on two or more joint works; 26 sustained partnerships.

Breadth20% of the score
16

How varied its partners are, judged by each company's main research field. Measured across the main research fields of all the company groups it worked with.

Each pillar is a percentile among the 1,038 ranked universities: a value of 80 means a higher value than about 80 in every 100 of them. The ICI score (64.3) is the weighted average of the four percentiles. Rank 271 of 1,038 overall; 22 of 57 in Germany; 118 of 388 in Europe. Standing bands: Platinum for ranks 1 to 100, Gold 101 to 300, Silver 301 to 600. How the index is built →

In numbers

The evidence behind the position

6.5%of its 12,316 research works in 2021 to 2025 were co-authored with a verified company
1.60Industry co-authorship rate: 1.60 times what its mix of research fields would predict (805 verified works; about 504 expected)
26sustained partnerships: the same company group on five or more joint works in three or more of the five years

In Germany

22 of 57 ranked universities in Germany

  1. #20 University of Duisburg-Essen world #253, score 65.6
  2. #21 Technische Universität Darmstadt world #257, score 65.1
  3. #22 University of Stuttgart world #271, score 64.3
  4. #23 University of Rostock world #277, score 63.9
  5. #24 Technische Universität Berlin world #278, score 63.8

All ranked universities →   Europe: 118 of 388 →

Where it works with industry

Sector strengths

Verified industry works by sector, with its position in each sector ranking. A university is ranked in a sector once it has at least 20 verified works there; sectors with fewer than 50 eligible universities are provisional.

Strongest sector positions

#6 of 167Software, Cloud and Data69 verified works in the sector
#28 of 201Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.078.5 verified works in the sector
#159 of 481Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology69 verified works in the sector
Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.0
78.5#28 of 201
Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology
69#159 of 481
Software, Cloud and Data
69#6 of 167
Batteries and Energy Storage
56.5#48 of 126
Clean Energy Transition
43.5#140 of 295
Artificial Intelligence
41#110 of 292
Built Environment and Infrastructure
24#160 of 215
Next-Generation Communications
23.5#164 of 188
Climate, Environment and Sustainability
21#314 of 373
Chemicals, Process and Resources
20.5#216 of 237
Aerospace and Aviation
17under 20 works
Automotive and Mobility
16.5under 20 works
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
16under 20 works
Biotechnology and Advanced Therapies
10.5under 20 works
Agriculture and Food Technology
8under 20 works
Pharmaceuticals and Therapeutics
8under 20 works
Quantum Technologies
7under 20 works
Medical Technology and Digital Health
6under 20 works
Robotics and Autonomous Systems
6ranking withheld (under 10 eligible)
Space and Satellite Technology
5.5under 20 works
Not in any of the 21 sectors
256.5counted in the overall index

548.5 of its 805 verified industry works fall within the 21 sectors. The rest have research topics that belong to no industry sector (basic science, for example) or are consortium papers with 100 or more authors, which the sector indices leave out; all of them count fully in the overall index.

Who it works with

Company partners, 2021 to 2025

University of Stuttgart co-authored verified work with 376 company groups, consortium papers aside: 122 of them on two or more works, and 26 as sustained partners.

The largest 12 of its 376 company groups, by joint works

Company groupBased inCompany's main research fieldJoint worksYears with a joint work
Robert BoschGermanyEngineering1085 of 5
Mercedes-BenzGermanyEngineering76.55 of 5
TRUMPFGermanyEngineering34.55 of 5
SiemensGermanyEngineering21.55 of 5
AirbusFranceEngineering205 of 5
Boehringer IngelheimGermanyMedicine18.55 of 5
DaimlerGermanyEngineering175 of 5
BASFGermanyMaterials Science145 of 5
NokiaFinlandEngineering13.55 of 5
Sumitomo Electric IndustriesJapanEngineering135 of 5
MTU Aero EnginesGermanyEngineering125 of 5
AudiGermanyEngineering11.55 of 5

A company group brings together a company's subsidiaries and research labs under one name. A work counts half when its only company author also holds a post at this university. Consortium papers with 100 or more authors are left out of this table.

Examples of its work with industry

Most-cited verified joint works

Its most-cited verified works with 30 or fewer authors, leaving out guidelines and consensus statements. Citation counts are those of the open scholarly record at harvest. Each title links to the work.

Over time

Verified industry works by year

171.52021
170.52022
1522023
1612024
1502025

2025 is not yet complete: papers published late in the year are still being added to the open record, and coverage may not be equally complete for every university, so compare years with care. A work counts half when its only company author also holds a post at the university, so some totals end in .5.

Funded partnerships (reported, not scored)

Publicly funded research projects with companies

European Union: 88 Horizon projects with company partners

Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects starting 2021-2025 in which this university and at least one company take part (585 distinct companies). Most frequent: AVL List GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, Mercedes-benz AG, AVL Software and Functions GmbH, Airbus Operations SAS, Electricite de France.

  • SWITCH Sustainable Water-Injecting Turbofan Comprising Hybrid-electrics 2023, 18 companies
  • UP Wing Ultra Performance Wing 2023, 18 companies
  • QIA-Phase1 Quantum Internet Alliance - Phase1 2022, 12 companies

Shown for context from the public grant registries; they do not enter the score in Edition 1. Comparable open registries of company partners exist for the European Union and the United Kingdom but not yet for most other research systems, and in some countries national research organisations take part on behalf of university laboratories, so these counts are not comparable between countries.

Funded and co-publishing. Of the funded company partners that match an ICI company group, 31 also appear in this university's verified co-authorship record (Robert Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Airbus, Électricité de France, Infineon Technologies, Thales) and 105 are funded partners not yet visible in it. About 28% of funded company names could be matched to a company group; the rest are counted, not guessed. Sources: UKRI Gateway to Research harvested 4 Oct 2026; CORDIS bulk files of 2026-10-12 (latest record update 2026-06-10). Funded partnerships cover UK (UKRI Gateway to Research) and EU (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, CORDIS) projects starting 2021 to 2025 only. They are reported, never scored, and a funder record outside these two sources is not visible here.

Evidence checked

1,077 verified company links

Each counted link (one work, this university and one company) was confirmed against the affiliation text its author wrote; 578 of 1,655 candidate links were set aside.

Why links were set aside
  • 286 company name not written in the author's affiliation
  • 126 a place or common word that failed its stricter rule
  • 38 ordinary-word name without a company suffix
  • 36 part of a university or public institute's own unit
  • 13 part of a street or district address
  • 8 excluded after hand audit: Matched from a university chair (TUM Lehrstuhl fur Umformtechnik)
  • 71 for other reasons: smaller hand-audit findings, and links the current open record no longer supports

If a partner is missing or should not be here, send the evidence; corrections are free and reviewed against the public record.

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Where University of Stuttgart's collaboration could go next

This profile is free and public, and it stays that way. Beyond it, the GRP Partnership Intelligence Platform, a partner service arranged with each university, sets your record in both GRP indices beside the peers you choose: the universities and companies your peers work with that you do not, live funding calls matched to your strengths, the EU projects your peers have won, and a brief ready for your executive. It opens to partner universities on Monday 19 October 2026: enquire, and the GRP team will confirm availability and pricing for your university.

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The other GRP index

Research Collaboration Index

In the Research Collaboration Index 2026, University of Stuttgart ranks #690 of 1,195. It measures the whole research network, not only industry.

View the RCI profile →

Something wrong? Every figure comes from the public record and can be checked. If a partner is missing or should not be there, tell us and we will review it with the evidence. The 2027 edition will be calculated with the same published methodology. The window for universities to submit data for it is open now: submit data for the 2027 edition. The index is free, public and independent. No commercial relationship with any university or company changes any position, and no one can pay to be included, excluded or moved.