TU Munich (TUM) and SAP refer to it as the most extensive partnership between business and higher education in Germany. The collaboration is to run over 50 years and should “drive forward the technological revolution of digitization”. The areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are the focal points of the agreement. The Free State of Bavaria is making a site available on the TUM campus in Garching, a suburb to the north of Munich. SAP is providing the finance for the new research building with an investment volume of around €100 million. From the end of 2022, around 600 employees of SAP and approximately 130 TUM staff will be conducting research into topics such as the Internet of Things, robotics and mobility.

SAP is primarily hoping to benefit in terms of recruitment of new, highly qualified employees in the field of IT as a result of the collaboration. The students will mainly enjoy the advantages of proximity to practical applications and the opportunity to make contact with potential employers. In the view of TUM President Thomas Hofmann, the Garching campus will become a leading European center for data and information technology thanks to cooperation with SAP. The Garching campus is being strengthened further by the construction of the new Center for Quantum Engineering and the relocation of the Electronic Engineering and Information Technology faculties.