Shaping Change Together
At TU Dortmund University, scientific excellence meets outstanding transfer. Thus brilliant ideas are transformed into solutions for the societal challenges of the future – in the Ruhr area and far beyond.
As the third pillar alongside research and teaching, transfer is an integral part of academic work at TU Dortmund University. To ensure that technological and social innovations are rapidly put into practice, we rely on streamlined processes for the commercialization of intellectual property and promote entrepreneurial thinking at all levels. A key hub in this effort is the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET), which coordinates technology transfer and start-up activities at TU Dortmund University. Furthermore, we build on strong academic alliances and collaboration with partners from across the industry as well as in civil society. Because we are convinced: we shape change most effectively together.
As a modern university, we actively design economic and cultural change. Knowledge transfer is essential to this: only when results from cutting-edge research find their way into business, society, and politics can they have a lasting impact.
Tessa Flatten, Vice President and Unipreneurs Award Winner
Learn More about Knowledge Transfer at TU Dortmund University
Entrepreneurship: Turning Ideas into Businesses
Industry: Theory Meets Practice
Society: Initiating Change
Science communication: Change Through Dialog
Future Skills: Training Tomorrow’s Talent
Our Alliances
UA Ruhr: Better Together
Since 2007, TU Dortmund University, Ruhr University Bochum, and the University of Duisburg-Essen have been pooling their strengths in the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr) and collaborating across campuses in research, teaching, knowledge transfer, and administration. In the field of cutting-edge research, the four research centers together with one college form the heart of the alliance and are dedicated to addressing pressing global issues. Together, we have implemented more than 100 projects to date, in research, teaching, administration, and knowledge transfer.
Ruhr Innovation Lab: Two Universities, One Mission
The Ruhr Innovation Lab builds on the success of the UA Ruhr – it is the experimental space of TU Dortmund University and Ruhr University Bochum. The goal is a university network of a completely new kind. Together, both partners aim to develop fundamentally new forms of cooperation. Thus creating the freedom to think without boundaries and generate solutions that prepare our society for the challenges ahead. With the Ruhr Innovation Lab, the two universities are applying as a network of excellence for the second round of funding of the Excellence Strategy.
BRYCK Startup Alliance
The Ruhr area is one of the strongest start-up hubs in Germany: As a member of the BRYCK Start-up Alliance, TU Dortmund University is actively shaping this ecosystem. Together with our partners from the UA Ruhr and stakeholders from the private sector, we are bridging the gap between research, innovation, and the market. In 2025, the BRYCK Start-up Alliance was named one of only ten start-up factories nationwide. It is using its €30 million budget to support even more deep-tech start-ups when entering the market—and to establish our region as Europe’s hotspot for deep-tech start-ups.