Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) can trace its roots back to the early 1800s, when the “Higher Trade School” was opened in the Hessian city. It was in 1877 however, when Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse elevated “Grand-Ducal Hessian Polytechnic School” to a higher education institution, and TU began to take shape. 120 years later, took on its current moniker underscoring its status as a university. Technology is at the heart of the university’s academic offering, with natural sciences, social sciences and humanities all closely interwoven with engineering. So as to increase its knowledge, the institution has maintained a number of strategic partnerships with companies and research bodies, and the university is a driving force for economic and technological development in the Frankfurt-Rhein-Neckar metropolitan area. The university’s 112 degree programmes allow its 25,000-plus student body a broad range of fields to study in. The university is set over five locations, with 161 buildings and more than 300,000 square metres of usable space. Not many universities can boast their own airfield, but since 2005 the university has been the owner of Germany’s oldest airstrip, named after aviation pioneer August Euler. It is used for courses from aircraft engineering to aeronautics. TU’s research profile, which is a core part of its mission, is based on several areas that have societal applications such as cyber security, future energy systems, and computational engineering. Its alumni have carried on this civic engagement tradition with Peter Grünberg winning the Nobel Prize for physics in 2007. Günter Behnisch, a professor of Architectural/Building Design at TU Darmstadt, was the architect who designed the Olympic Park for the 1972 Munich Games. Bernhard Schlink, academic and award-winning author of The Reader, was a research assistant at the institution.