The Technical University of Munich (Technische Universität München, TUM) is a public funded research university. Since its charter in 1868 TUM has established a sound reputation as a leading academic institution and one of the largest German institutes of technology. It comprises 7 Schools and Academic Departments and 6 Integrative Research Centres. Roughly 10,000 academic and non-academic staff form a strong university community. The Institute of Astronomical and Physical Geodesy is an Institute of the Department Aerospace and Geodesy of TUM with about 25 employees.