TUM and Stanford University form strategic alliance on sustainability

10/27/2025
Reading time 3 min.

Two global academic players are joining forces: The Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability have formed a strategic alliance on sustainability. They will tackle pressing global challenges for the future of humanity together for more impact. The collaboration focuses on sustainability in connection with entrepreneurship.

Solar cells on the roof of a building at the TUM Sustainability Campus in Straubing

Building on successful projects and long-standing, trusting relationships, the partnership aims to enable a new level of collaboration. The goal is to expand excellence together in research, teaching, and the transfer of innovations into practice. UnternehmerTUM (Europe’s leading entrepreneurship hub) and TUM Venture Labs play a special role in this with their activities throughout Europe. In addition, faculty members, outstanding students, and employees of both universities will have more opportunities to work collaboratively on each other’s campus.

International cooperation as a factor for success

Prof. Werner Lang, TUM Vice President for Sustainable Transformation, emphasizes: “The Living Lab Summit marks the strategic launch of our transatlantic alliance and shows how two leading universities are using their campuses as real-world laboratories to test sustainable innovations in a practical setting. These innovations have an impact far beyond the campus boundaries and provide a decisive impetus for sustainable urban neighborhoods.”

Prof. Arun Majumdar, Founding Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, said: "At the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, we are fueled by optimism, hard work, creativity and a clear mission - to create a thriving, enduring future for humanity and the planet. Collaborations with universities like TUM are critical to advance knowledge and cultivate a new generation of leaders. Through our Living Lab initiative, we aim to create an environment where our scholars can test pioneering ideas that drive impactful change globally.”

UnternehmerTUM CEO Prof. Helmut Schönenberger said: "Creating sustainable growth companies from outstanding research requires powerful and well-connected innovation ecosystems. The transatlantic collaboration between Stanford and TUM marks a true milestone: it brings together the innovation engines of Silicon Valley and Munich’s high-tech cluster to fast-track the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies."

Joint projects

The official launch of the alliance took place at the Living Lab Summit at Stanford University in early October. There, academic leaders, industry innovators, and public sector experts discussed the potential of university campuses as living laboratories, as testing grounds for pilot projects and innovations in decarbonization and the sustainable transformation of the built environment. The summit succeeded in expanding global academic collaboration and strengthening student participation.

In addition, TUM will become a co-organizer of the Global Sustainability Challenge. In this annual competition, interdisciplinary teams of young people from around the world develop effective solutions to key sustainability issues and are sensitized to future challenges as future leaders. This year's competition focuses on sustainable energy production and strategies for adaptation and resilience. The global final will take place in 2026 during TUM Sustainability Day on April 29 on Campus Garching near Munich.

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