The Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig was founded on 1 July 1846. It follows the tradition of scientific academies set out by Leibnitz in 1700: facilitating regular meetings and exchange of scholars of a broad range of disciplines, discussing the methods and results of cutting-edge research in interdisciplinary disputes, pursuing long-term research, and combining theory and practice. To this end the academy organizes regular, topic-spanning disputes of renowned national and international scholars.

The Max Planck Society (MPG) was founded in 1948 to keep up the tradition of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft. Many outstanding reserachers worked and still work at this most renowned German research organization, as exemplified by the large number of nobel laureates in its rows. After the reunification in 1989 the society started to found new institutes in several locations in Eastern Germany. Three of them are located in Leipzig.

Leipzig’s research diversity is reflected in its four Leibniz Institutes. The Leibniz Association, named after the philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), a native of Leipzig, is one of Germany’s four non-university research organizations. It connects 96 independent institutes focusing on fields such as natural sciences, engineering, economics, and the humanities. Addressing socially, economically, and ecologically relevant topics, the Leibniz Institutes are jointly funded by federal and state governments due to their national significance.

Leipzig University is organized in 14 faculties with more than 100 institutes. The research topics cover a broad spectrum of disciplines in life sciences, social sciences and humanities, and the natural sciences — with particular strength in the fields of global interactions, (bio-)materials, intelligent materials, biotechnology, mathematical sciences, and biodiversity.

The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) is a leading research center of biodiversity sciences with a research focus on insights into the biological diversity of Earth. Researches from all over the world cooperate in building the scientific foundation of a sustainable development of the biological diversity. Moreover, the conter reaches out to the civil society – for instance in its internationally oriented media relations or in events like the Long Night of Sciences, the Leipzig Book Fair or SPIN 2030.

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) was founded and developed in the context of German reunification as a “broadly based center for researching the ecology of industrialized urban regions.” Today, it stands as one of the world’s leading research centers in environmental science. More than 1,000 employees at the UFZ share the goal of identifying ways to reconcile a healthy environment with societal development through excellent research. Their work has played a key role in transforming the Leipzig area into a rich ecosystem with significant recreational value.

The Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum (DBFZ) explores how the limited resources of biomass can be used with maximal sustainability and efficiency to our energy systems. To this end the insitute identifies, develops, supports, evaluates, and demonstrates the most promising fields of application of bio-energy. Thus, its work extends our knowledge about the opportunities and limitations of the energetic and physical use of renewable raw materials, and it permanently secures the leading role of German industry in this sector.