UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI PARTNERS WITH
THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH
For Strategic International Alliance in Engineering
Munich, Germany -- The University of Miami (UM) and the Technische Universität München (TUM) signed today a strategic alliance in engineering and information technology. This international collaboration aims to achieve world-class joint research projects in both engineering and information technology including research faculty and student exchanges.
College of Engineering Dean M. Lewis Temares (seated, left) and Abraham Varghese, Director International & Government Relations represented UM at the TUM signing ceremony in Munich, Germany. Also present were Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the Bavarian Minister-President Dr. Edmund Stoiber, TUM University President Prof. Dr. Wolfgang A. Herrmann (seated, right), Vice-President Ardt Bode, and other Bavarian Government officials.
To encourage international academic relationships between Florida and Germany, Enterprise Florida, Inc., the State of Florida's official economic development organization, assisted in formalizing the partnership between the two institutions. The signing of this strategic alliance took place in Munich, Germany, as part of Team Florida Germany, Florida’s trade mission lead by Governor Jeb Bush.
Dr. Edmund Stoiber, The Bavarian Minister-President and Governor Bush, several dignitaries from Germany and Florida were in attendance at the signing ceremony. University of Miami was represented by Dr. M. Lewis Temares, Dean of the College of Engineering and Vice President for Information Technology, and Mr. Abraham Varghese, Director, International & Government Relations. Technische Universität München was represented by President Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann.
“The strategic alliance between these two outstanding universities across the Atlantic will go far beyond research and development,” said Florida Governor Jeb Bush. “This partnership will provide a critical boost to local industries in electrical and computer engineering research and information technology. In addition, the university-led joint research projects could spur new companies and result in more high-value jobs both in Florida and Germany.”
As part of the faculty exchange and cooperation that will result from the alliance between the two 
universities, UM and TUM will write joint proposals to international funding agencies, both in the U.S. and in Europe, which will improve research initiatives, whereby increasing the economic impact in their respective communities. With a budget of about $ 1.3 billion, UM has a substantial positive economic impact on Miami-Dade County. TUM has a similar impact in the Greater Munich Area, Europe’s most vivid research and technology center.
"This is an exciting international venture with educational and economic impact," said Dr. M. Lewis Temares, Dean of the College of Engineering and Vice President for Information Technology at the University of Miami. “Students, faculty and businesses will benefit from the studies and research accomplished jointly by these reputed institutions.”
”UM and TUM are partners of excellence in HighTech Engineering and thus fulfill the prerequisites of a strategic alliance,” said Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann, President of Technische Universität München. “Engineering including Informatics und Computer Science is TUM’s core competence, with a very strong impact from Science and Medicine further adding to our overall performance.”
Students at UM and TUM will receive international educational experience through study abroad programs, international internships, and student exchange programs between the United States and Germany.
About University of Miami
Founded in 1925, the University of Miami is the largest private research university in the southeastern United States, with a well-earned reputation for academic excellence. UM currently enrolls more than 15,600 undergraduate and graduate students from every state and 148 foreign countries. With a total of 9,874 employees, UM is the largest private employer in Miami-Dade County. UM's 2,200 full-time faculty members generated $269.9 million in sponsored research and according to the National Science Foundation, UM ranked 57th of all universities in expenditures of federal funds for research and development.
With more than 950 students, the
About Technical University of Munich
The famous King Ludwig II founded the Technische Universität München in 1868 as Polytechnicum. In 1930, the much older Weihenstephan "College of Agriculture and Brewing" was annexed to TUM. In 1957, a research reactor was built in Garching and the new reactor was completed in 2004 .The TUM consists now of 12 departments (e. g. engineering and natural sciences, medicine, sports, agriculture, brewing) with around 20,000 students - 20% from them are international students - and 7,200 employees.
The Technische Universität München holds a unique position in Europe in terms of the choice of fields it offers. The courses cover all areas of the natural and engineering sciences, along with medicine and life sciences. The medical faculty includes Munich's Rechts der Isar University Hospital and the German Heart Center Munich at TU München, which is affiliated to the hospital. Life sciences as taught by the TUM cover the complete field of food and nutrition, and are studied at the Weihenstephan Center of Life Sciences at the Freising campus. Sport science, which is offered by the university as a legacy of the 1972 Olympic games, acts as a bridge between all the other subjects and is now organized into a separate faculty.
For more information go to: www.tum.de
About Enterprise Florida, Inc.
Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida's business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida. Headquartered in Orlando, EFI’s mission is to diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries. In pursuit of its mission, EFI works closely with a statewide network of economic development partners and is funded both by the State of Florida and private-sector businesses.
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Media coverage links (in German):
1. TUM website
2. Press Relations
3. Uni-Protokolle
4. Bayerische Staatskanzeli
5. IDW
Media Contact:
Annie Reisewitz
305-284-1601
a.reisewitz@miami.edu
November 14, 2005
