International academic staff at the four largest non-university research institutes, since 2010

In 2020, around 15,000 academics and researchers of foreign nationalities were contractually employed by the four largest non-university research institutes (NURI). Their number has more than doubled since 2010 (+120%), indicating more dynamic development at NURI than at universities in terms of international academic staff. While the number of international academics and researchers at universities has risen by 16% since 2017, the increase at NURI over the same period is 26%, up 6% on 2019 alone.

The Max Planck Society registers the strongest growth, where the number of international academics and researchers has shot up by 185% in the last decade. This is partly due to the decision taken in 2015 to no longer finance doctoral students by means of scholarships but to give them fixed-term contracts. At the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, there has also been a significant increase in international academic staff since 2010, growing by 111% and 142% respectively. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the only noteworthy exception. Despite reporting its highest number of international academics and researchers to date in 2020, this represents a rise of just 14% compared to 2010. However, after a significant decline, this number has been picking up again since 2015, up by 9% from 2019 to 2020 alone.