UA Ruhr Seals the Deal on Collaboration for Cutting-Edge International Research
- UA Ruhr
- Research Highlights
- Artificial Intelligence
- Top News
- Research
- Higher Education Policy
- Press Releases
“With the establishment of the Research Alliance Ruhr, we are pooling the top university research of the universities of Bochum, Dortmund and Duisburg-Essen in future-oriented research fields. In the 1960s, the founding of the Ruhr universities was a major driving force behind the structural transformation of the Ruhr Area. The cooperation that has now been concluded will create a new, highly innovative university association that meets the highest scientific excellence criteria. In this way, we as the state government, together with the universities, want to raise the international appeal of the Ruhr Area as an excellent science region to a new level,” says Science Minister Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen.
Ruhr as a globally networked innovation region
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister for Europe, Dr. Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner, who is in charge of the Ruhr Conference, and State Secretary Dr. Mark Speich, who as State Secretary is leading the forum “Ruhr as a globally networked innovation region,” said in a joint reaction: “With the agreement concluded today, the participating universities are living the spirit of the Ruhr Conference: Collaboration across municipal and institutional boundaries to make world-class research possible. This spirit of cooperation and excellence should also be a model for us in other fields of action. The future is not created in silos.”
“With the Research Alliance Ruhr, we are creating a new joint research institute to strategically bundle the strengths of the three universities and further expand them,” says Prof. Ulrich Radtke, Rector of the University of Duisburg-Essen. His colleague from Bochum, Prof. Axel Schölmerich, adds: “With the new structure, we will be in an even better position to attract exceptional talent from all over the world to the Ruhr Area and increase its international appeal.” The President of TU Dortmund University, Prof. Manfred Bayer, goes on to say: “The region will benefit from the innovative ideas that emerge from research projects. The notion of change through science has a long-standing tradition here and will continue to drive the metropolitan area forward in the future.”
Pressing issues facing the future
The research focuses on pressing issues facing the future such as the holistic health of people and the environment, sustainability and renewable energy, and trust in digital systems. The four research centers – “One Health – from Molecules to Systems”, “Chemical Sciences and Sustainability”, “Future Energy Materials and Systems” and “Trustworthy Data Science and Security” – are dedicated to research in these areas. The College for Social Sciences and Humanities, on the other hand, offers an open platform for international exchange in any and all fields of the humanities and social sciences.
The 17 founding directors are tasked with building up the five units over the next four years in coordination with the rectorates of the three universities. They will determine the focus of new research areas to be filled, which will be linked to the universities through joint appointments in consultation with the relevant departments. The positions will be financed by the additional state funding. This approach will enable the Research Alliance Ruhr to develop flexibly, to grow as required and to fully harness the potential of the shared research area. The institution is set to be fully operational by 2025 following a gradual development stage, for which the state has earmarked an annual budget of around 48 million euros.
The idea of establishing cross-location research centers with international appeal in the Ruhr Area came out on top in an open ideas competition as part of the Ruhr Conference in 2019. In November of last year, the state government allocated an annually growing budget for 2021 to 2024 totaling 75 million euros. In March 2021, a committee of experts put together by the Council of Science and Humanities gave the UA Ruhr concept the go-ahead. With the cooperation agreement now signed, the next step is to formulate the legal structure of the Research Alliance Ruhr in accordance with the provisions of the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Education Act.
The University Alliance Ruhr
Ruhr-Universität Bochum, TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen have been closely collaborating as strategic partners under the UA Ruhr umbrella since 2007. By joining forces, these partner universities are able to systematically enhance their performance. Under the motto “Better Together”, there are now over 100 collaborations being conducted in research, teaching and administration. With more than 120,000 students and almost 1,300 professors, the UA Ruhr is one of the largest and most productive scientific locations in Germany.
Contact for further information:
