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Three Universities, One Community, Endless Opportunities

Since 2007, the University Alliance Ruhr has stood for technical and social change through cutting-edge research. We study, research and teach together in Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg and Essen.

  • Group picture of the 3rd cohort of International Senior Fellows © College for Social Sciences and Humanities​/​UA Ruhr
    Networking at the College

    Ten Senior Researchers Start Fellowships at the College

    The College welcomes its third cohort of international Senior Fellows. The visiting researchers will work for six months on research projects together with tandem partners from the University Alliance Ruhr.

  • Prof. Martina Havenith at the microphone. © Felix Schmale​/​TU Dortmund University
    New Year's Reception

    UA Ruhr Cluster of Excellence RESOLV Starts in the Year 2025

    RESOLV applies for funding in the Excellence Strategy for the third time. At the New Year's reception, the team looked back on a successful year 2024.

  • The picture shows a collage of the campuses of TU Dortmund University, Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Duisburg-Essen © TU Dortmund​/​RUB​/​UDE - Arne Rensing
    Nationwide Ranking

    UA Ruhr Universities Strong in Start-Up Support

    RUB and TU Dortmund University are among the top 10 in the Start-up Radar 2025. The UDE has risen significantly in the ranking.

  • Five researchers sit on a stage and discuss. © Hesham Elsherif​/​TU Dortmund University
    UA Ruhr Distinguished Lecture

    Berkeley Professor Discusses Sentience of AI

    In a guest lecture, Prof. Edward A. Lee spoke about his findings on whether machines could one day become sentient beings.

  • Eye with iris in rainbow colors. © SAPHIR
    Exhibition

    Perceiving and Understanding

    Researchers from the philosophy departments of the three universities in the Ruhr region present optical illusions at the Dortmunder U.

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University Alliance Ruhr: Shaping the Future Together

Photo of the three UA Ruhr Rectors Paul (left) and Bayer (right) and Rector Albert (middle), taken in a corner office in front of a skyscraper backdrop in New York © Nathalie Schueller

At the universities of the University Alliance Ruhr, 14,000 academics conduct research and pass on their findings to 110,000 students. This makes the UA Ruhr one of the largest and most powerful university alliances in Germany. The academic community at Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen stands for innovation, excellence and a living partnership in research, teaching and administration. Strategic management is carried out by the rectors: "We are delighted that the University Alliance Ruhr is continuing to act as a unit in new areas, launching initiatives and sharing common values and views. Together we are shaping the future."

Find out more about what makes us unique

Bundling Top International Research

Photo/graphic combination in blue, on which the main motif is a person in laboratory clothing filling liquid into a test tube with a pipette. Numerous symbols and icons from chemistry and other sciences are depicted in front of the motif. © Jittawit21​/​stock.adobe.com

The UA Ruhr’s top-level international research on pressing issues of the future has been consolidated under the umbrella of the Research Alliance Ruhr since 2021. With four research centers and a college for social sciences and humanities, the Research Alliance is a beacon within the knowledge metropolis Ruhr and serves as an attractive research environment for outstanding scholars.

Find out more about the Research Alliance Ruhr

Support for Scientists on Their Career Path

Four people of different ages stand at a high table in a foyer and discuss © Damian Gorczany​/​RAR

In the Research Academy Ruhr, Ruhr University Bochum, University of Duisburg-Essen and TU Dortmund University have combined their extensive programs for supporting early career researchers since 2017. The more than 10,000 young researchers within the UA Ruhr are supported through transferable skills qualification opportunities and benefit from a diverse range of networking options throughout their career path.

Find out more about the Research Academy Ruhr

International Networks

Blue map of the world on a dark blue background, a net spans the map with nodes of different brightness © J. Mel​/​stock.adobe.com

The UA Ruhr universities cooperate with universities and research institutes around the globe. In order to expand their international relations, the three universities set up their first joint liaison office in New York as early as in 2004. A wealth of programs promote international exchange, while the number of degree courses taught in English is also rising.

Find out more about our international networks

Excellent Together

Collage of the three most striking buildings of the UA Ruhr universities © Arne Rensing​/​UDE​/​UA Ruhr

In August 2024, the University Alliance Ruhr submitted four applications for Clusters of Excellence in the Excellence Strategy. The RESOLV cluster will receive a new boost from the Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability for the continuation of solvent research, while the Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security will strengthen the CASA cluster in the field of cybersecurity. With REASONS, the Research Center One Health Ruhr submitted a Cluster of Excellence proposal on aquatic ecology. An application from the field of particle physics is also in the running. The aim of the University Alliance Ruhr is to achieve excellence together as a network.

Find out more about the University Alliance Ruhr in the Excellence Strategy

Cluster of Excellence RESOLV

Close-up of a laboratory vessel in which a red and a yellow liquid are mixed, in the background other vessels with colored liquids © Katja Marquard​/​RUB

Most chemical reactions, important industrial processes and almost all biological processes take place in the liquid phase. The team of the Ruhr Explores Solvation (RESOLV) Cluster of Excellence strives to understand the role solvents play in controlling, mediating and regulating chemical reactions. More than 200 researchers from chemistry, physics and engineering collaborate to achieve this.

Find out more about the RESOLV Cluster of Excellence

Cluster of Excellence CASA

Back of a server with a colorful tangle of cables coming out of it © Katja Marquard​/​RUB

Nowadays, many cyberattacks on organizations or critical infrastructure are carried out by large-scale attackers and, in particular, by public or semi-public organizations. The focus of the Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries (CASA) Cluster of Excellence is on effective countermeasures. Its research is based on an interdisciplinary approach combining computer science, mathematics, engineering and psychology.

Find out more about the CASA Cluster of Excellence

Inter-University Funding

© fotogestoeber​/​AdobeStock

MERCUR is the inter-university funding organization of the University Alliance Ruhr with the aim of jointly developing innovative fields of research and creating long-term structures.

Learn more about MERCUR

University Alliance Ruhr: Excellent Together

Map of the Ruhr area showing the four locations of UA Ruhr © UA Ruhr