RWTH Aachen University is the largest university of technology in Germany and one of the most renowned in Europe. It currently has around 28,000 enrolled students, most of them in engineering. Every year, numerous international students and scientists come to the University to benefit from its high quality courses and excellent facilities, both of which are recognised at an international level. Almost 5,000 international students are currently enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and PhD programmes. The proximity of Aachen to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and the subsequent exposure to a variety of cultural heritages has placed the University in a unique position with regard to the reflection and promotion of international aspects and intensive interaction with other universities.

 RWTH Aachen University was founded as a politechnical institute (Polytechnikum) in 1870 by an industrial initiative, in a then fringe area of the Prussian heavy industry. As early as 1899, it was  conferred the right to award doctoral degrees. Re-established after World War II as the Institute of Technology of the North Rhine-Westphalia (Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule Aachen) it soon obtained the status of a university. The number of students increased within a period of forty years from around one thousand to 38,000 students in the 1990s. The rapid advance in science and engineering and subsequent growth of departments resulted in the creation of further faculties in engineering and the natural sciences. As early as the 1960s, the University met the increasing societal demands by expanding the range of subjects. The Faculties of Humanities and Medicine were founded in the 1960s, followed by the Faculty of Economics in the 1980s. 

Teaching and research are characterised by an international, innovative, and interdisciplinary approach and a close cooperation with industry. The main objectives of the RWTH education are a solid knowledge of the basic scientific subjects with the ability to apply this knowledge to engineering problems, as well as a high level of expertise within the field of specialisation and the ability to transfer scientific results into economic and technical application. In addition, the intensive interaction between all sciences in research and teaching is a direct response to the demands placed on future young professionals. Engineering professors usually held leading positions in industry before they became faculty members, and other experts from industry teach special courses which enable students to benefit from the expertise and applied knowledge. The RWTH Aachen has a long history of close and wide-ranging co-operation with national and international industries and research centres and contributes effectively to the success and development of the German economy with an increasing extension of this role with regard to the European Union.