Germany‟s south-west, which specialises in state-of-the-art technology, is a highly innovative location for electronics.

In addition to the outstanding research output of a multitude of medium-sized electrical and electrical engineering companies, Baden-Württemberg offers a large spectrum of institutional research facilities.

A total of 33 institutes/specialist areas and centres at the universities as well as six specialist universities with their outstanding research performance help Baden-Württemberg achieve its top international ranking in research and development in the field of electronics and electrical engineering.

There are also research facilities run by the state of Baden- Württemberg such as the Institute for Microelectronics (IMS CHIP) in Stuttgart, which carries out research closely allied to commercial applications in the areas of silicon technology, userspecific circuits (ASIC), photolithography and image sensor technology, and also engages sustainably in continuing professional development.

Seven Fraunhofer Institutes and one Max-Planck Institute in Baden-Württemberg are focussing their research on electronics and electrical engineering.

Together with the major research facility of the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), a total of 48 institutes/specialist areas and centres support businesses in the electrical industry with innovative research and development work.

In addition to the first-class research network, businesses in the electrical industry in Baden-Württemberg are also highly innovative. In terms of R&D expenditure and R&D personnel, the companies in this sector in the south-west are amongst the toprated in Germany. Alongside Bavaria, companies in Baden- Württemberg spend the most resources on internal R&D and on internal R&D personnel.