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)

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 2023)

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. The Leipzig region is also consistently among the top 10.

EU Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2023

Excellent Higher Education as the Basis for Saxony's Success

94% of employed Saxons have at least a university entrance qualification or completed vocational training. (OECD average: 80 percent)
42.6% share of students in STEM subjects among all first-year students - top position among all federal states
25.1 percent (national average: 17 percent) Proportion of engineering graduates among all graduates - top value among all federal states.
Highest replacement rate for engineers - around 8.7 new engineering graduates for every 100 engineers subject to social insurance contributions in Saxony (national average: 5.5 %)
15.8 percent of students are from foreign countries - the third-highest figure in the federal state comparison (average: 12.3 percent)

Skilled Employees