The Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (German: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), also known as LMU, is a university in Munich and, with more than 44,000 students, is the second-largest university in Germany. The majority of foreign exchanges at the University of Munich are with European universities. The main building is situated in Ludwigstrasse. The university’s main campus is served by the Munich U-Bahn’s Universität station.

According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (2006), the LMU is the highest ranked German university (51st), and according to the German FOCUS ranking, the LMU is the second highest ranked German university (behind the Technical University of Munich).

Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Latin: Ludovico Maximilianes
Established: 1472
Type: Public
Rector: Prof. Dr. Bernd Huber
Staff: 12.629; 657 Professors (as of winter 2008/2009)
Students: 44,064 (as of winter 2008/2009)
Location: Munich, Germany
Colours: Green and White
Affiliations: German Excellence Universities
LERU
Website: www.lmu.de

The university was founded on December 2, 1409 by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, and originally comprised four faculties. Since its inception the university has enjoyed almost 600 years of uninterrupted teaching and research.

University of Leipzig
Universität Leipzig
Latin: Alma mater Lipsiensis
Established: December 2, 1409
Type: Public
Rector: Franz Häuser
Staff: 3,196 (2005)
Students: 29,668 (winter 2006/2007)
Location: Leipzig, Saxony, Germany
Campus: urban
Website: www.uni-leipzig.de

The university was founded in 1457 by the Hapsburg dynasty as the second university in Austrian-Habsburg territory after the University of Vienna. Today, Freiburg is the fifth-oldest university in Germany, with a long tradition of teaching the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The university is made up of 11 faculties and attracts students from across Germany as well as from over one hundred and twenty other countries.

The University of Freiburg is considered one of Europe’s most prestigious universities and is amongst its top research and teaching institutions. With its long-standing reputation of excellence, the university looks both to the past, to maintain its academic and cultural heritage, and to the future, developing new methods and opportunities to meet the needs of a changing world. The University of Freiburg has been home to some of the greatest minds of the Western tradition, including such eminent figures as Johann Eck, Max Weber, Rudolf Carnap, Edmund Husserl, Friedrich Meinecke, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Friedrich Hayek. In addition, 19 Nobel laureates are affiliated with the University of Freiburg and 13 academics have been honored with the highest German research prize, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, while working at the University of Freiburg.

As of 2007, the university has been designated an elite German “University of Excellence”.

University of Freiburg
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Latin: Alma Mater Alberto-Ludoviciana
Motto: Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen (“The truth will make you free”)
Established: 1457
Type: Public university
Rector: Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer
Students: 21,022
Location: Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Colors: Blue and White
Affiliations: German Excellence Universities, EUA, LERU, IFPU
Website: www.uni-freiburg.de

TUM is among the highest acclaimed universities in Germany, producing several Nobel Laureates including Gerhard Ertl who in 2007 received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The TUM, like many German universities, is a “no campus” university. However, with further expansion plans for the Garching site, more and more departments are to be placed into new buildings in Garching. The Garching campus, unlike the downtown area, is set up more like a traditional “quadrangle” style campus with a large grouping of buildings. At the moment, university buildings are spread over four main and several minor locations:

Main campus in downtown Munich
Garching (Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, …), complete with an on-campus General Electric Company facility
Weihenstephan (Center for Life and Food Science)
Hospital “Klinikum Rechts der Isar” (Medicine), Munich

Technische Universität München (TUM)
Technische Universität München
Established: 1868
Type: Public
President: Wolfgang A. Herrmann
Staff: 7,356 (395 Professors; 4,160 Academic)
Students: 21,608[1]
Location: Munich, Germany
Affiliations: German Universities Excellence Initiative
Website: www.tum.de

Quality
Since its inception, Mercedes-Benz had a reputation for quality and durability. Objective measures looking at passenger vehicles such as J.D. Power surveys demonstrated a downturn in reputation in this area in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By mid-2005, Mercedes temporarily returned to the industry average for initial quality, a measure of problems after the first 90 days of ownership, according to J.D. Power. In J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study for the first quarter of 2007, Mercedes showed dramatic improvement by climbing from 25th to 5th place, surpassing quality leader Toyota and earning several awards for its models. For 2008, Mercedes-Benz’s initial quality rating improved by yet another mark, now in fourth place. On top of this accolade, it also received the Platinum Plant Quality Award for its Mercedes’ Sindelfingen, Germany assembly plant. As of 2009, Consumer Reports of the United States has changed their reliability ratings for several Mercedes-Benz vehicles to “average,” and recommending the E-Class and the S-Class.

Mercedes-Benz
Type:Division of Daimler AG
Founded:1881
Founder(s):Gottlieb Daimler, Karl Benz
Headquarters:Stuttgart, Germany
Key people:Dieter Zetsche, CEO
Industry:Automotive industry
Products:Automobiles Trucks Buses Engines
Parent:Daimler AG
Website: www.Mercedes-Benz.com