Founded in 1949, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft currently operates 74 institutes and research institutions. The majority of our 28,000 staff are qualified scientists and engineers, who work with an annual research budget of 2.8 billion euros. Of this sum, 2.3 billion euros is generated through contract research. Around 70 percent of Fraunhofer’s contract research revenue is derived from contracts with industry and publicly funded research projects. The remaining 30 percent comes from the German federal and state governments in the form of base funding. This enables the institutes to work on solutions to problems that are likely to become crucial for industry and society within the not-too-distant future.
Applied research also has a knock-on effect that is felt way beyond the customer's direct benefits: our institutes boost industry’s performance and efficiency, promote the acceptance of new technologies within society, and help train the future generation of scientists and engineers the economy so urgently requires.
Our highly motivated staff, working at the cutting edge of research, are the key factor in our success as a scientific organization. Fraunhofer offers researchers the opportunity for independent, creative, and, at the same time, targeted work. Therefore, we provide our employees with the chance to develop the professional and personal skills that will enable them to take up positions of responsibility at Fraunhofer, at universities, in industry, and within society. Students who work on projects at Fraunhofer Institutes have excellent career prospects in the industry by the practical training they enjoy and the early experience of dealing with contract partners.
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is a recognized non-profit organization that takes its name from Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787–1826), the illustrious Munich researcher, inventor, and entrepreneur.
Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV