Innovation out of Tradition

Saxony's great innovative strength was and is a major asset. This is confirmed by the EU "Regional Innovation Scoreboard": Saxony is a European "Strong Innovator".

Focus on R&D Higher Education Contact
No-Code Robotics (Source: Wandelbots GmbH, Dresden)
Source: Wandelbots GmbH, Dresden

EU "Regional Innovation Scoreboard" - Saxony Scores With:

  • R&D expenditures

    high public and corporate spending on research and development

  • Innovative SMEs

    High expenditures on innovation in the SME sector

  • Process innovations

    above-average number of SMEs introducing process innovations

  • High-tech Workplaces

    Large number of employees in innovative SMEs
Graphic: Top 20 regions in the EU based on research intensity (source: EU Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2025)
Saxony Trade & Invest, based on EU Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2025

Strong Focus on Research & Development

R&D expenditure in the public and corporate sectors is one of the most important drivers of growth in a knowledge-based economy. Research intensity (R&D expenditure as a proportion of a region's GDP) is therefore an important indicator of a region's future competitiveness and prosperity.

The region around Saxony's state capital of Dresden in particular has ranked among the top 5 regions in the EU for years (2025: rank 1). The Leipzig region is also consistently among the top 10.

EU Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2025

Excellent Higher Education as the Basis for Saxony's Success

  • 87.9 % - Above-average proportion of vocational school students with foreign language lessons (national average: 51.6 %)
  • 22.3 % (national average: 16.7 %) Proportion of engineering graduates among all graduates - top figure among all federal states
  • Above-average doctorate rate: 7.4 % (national average: 5.3 %)
  • Public expenditure per student in Saxony is a good 2.75 times higher than total state expenditure per capita (national average: 1.79).
  • Highest investment ratio at universities: 14.6 % (national average: 10.8 %)
  • 17.2 % of students are foreign students - the third-highest figure in the federal state comparison (average: 13.6 %)
  • High research orientation:
    • 309,600 euros in third-party funding raised per professor - highest value in Germany (national average: 183,000 euros).
    • Highest number of researchers at universities in relation to GDP

Source: INSM German Education Monitor 2025

Skilled Employees

Saxony Has Bright Minds

Graphic INSM Education Monitor 2025
source: INSM Education Monitor 2025
Learn more

Contact

Lienig Dr., Uwe

Dr. Uwe Lienig

Industry, Innovation & Marketing

+49-351-2138 201