In the university competition “Excellence in Teaching” of 2009 the “Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft” (Donor’s Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany) and the Kultusministerkonferenz (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs) awarded six universities and four universities of applied sciences with the total subsidy amount of 10 million Euro. An advisory committee and an international jury of 200 representatives from universities and politics judged each university in a public hearing in Berlin. A total of 108 universities had applied for the competition of which 13 universities and 11 universities of applied sciences were invited to participate in the final round.

RPTU was one of the six universities that won – it received prize money in the amount of 1 million Euros which was intended to be used for more than a dozen projects designed with the intensive collaboration of students from the departments of RPTU and was guaranteed future funding.

There are very few universities in Germany which grant their students so much co-determination as at RPTU. The university's innovative concept includes giving students more responsibility and  granting the departments freedom of organization. There are very few universities in Germany which grant their students so much co-determination. Students are not viewed as customers, but rather as equal partners. The main aim of the concept is to increase the rate of successful students.

See also:

• Rankings