Welcome!

The UA Ruhr is an alliance between Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, and the University of Duisburg-Essen, the three largest universities in Germany’s thriving Ruhr Area. Each of our institutions has a strong tradition of breaking down walls between disciplines. We believe in the benefits of collaboration on all levels of scholarship and research, which is one of the reasons we came together in this unique university alliance.



Important step towards excellence

With combined strength, the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr) has reached the second round in the Excellence Strategy competition: scientists from Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen are involved in a total of four research projects that can now submit a full proposal as a Cluster of Excellence. This promising result underlines the potential of the cooperation between the three universities in the Ruhr area to jointly apply as Consortium of Excellence in the coming year.

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Welcome to the Ruhr!

The Ruhr Area is not only Germany’s largest academic hub, but also an epicenter of innovation that fosters close interaction between academia and the private sector – and our alliance provides students and researchers from around the world with an open gateway to our region.

More than 110,000 students, of which 19,000 are international, as well as over 14,000 researchers study and work within the UA Ruhr universities (Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University and University of Duisburg-Essen). Together, the three universities have 800 partnerships with universities in over 130 countries and a combined annual budget of close to 1.4 billion euros – which provides our students and researchers with virtually unlimited possibilities for exchange and resources for development. To support our already strong global network of international exchange and collaboration, the UA Ruhr has also created academic liaison offices for North America and Eastern Europe/Central Asia. We invite you to learn more about the UA Ruhr alliance and our universities, and we look forward to welcoming you in the Ruhr Area soon!

UA Ruhr Research Focus

The UA Ruhr is one of the largest and most powerful science locations in Germany and thus serves as a role model for cross-institutional and cross-city cooperation within the Ruhr region and far beyond. The strategic goal of the UA Ruhr is to establish the Ruhr region as an excellent location in the national and international science landscape. To this end, the UA Ruhr bundles its top international research under the umbrella of the Research Alliance Ruhr in four Research Centers and one College:

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Research Center One Health Ruhr - From Molecules to Systems
In the Research Center One Health Ruhr, the UA Ruhr universities bring together their top-level research in the fields of molecular biology, water research, molecular cancer research and neuroscience. The vision of the researchers is to develop the topic of health in its significance and interaction of environment and humans as an internationally exemplary lighthouse project.


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Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability
In the Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability, the universities combine internationally visible and excellent solvent research to improve the understanding of solvation-guided processes as well as reactions in the liquid phase. The Center integrates expertise from a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines.


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Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security
The Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security unites the current, outstanding expertise of the three universities in the fields of social and data sciences and IT security. A unique human-centered research approach covers all interdisciplinary research on trustworthy data analytics, explainable machine learning, and privacy-friendly algorithms.


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Research Center Future Energy Materials and Systems
In the Research Center Future Energy Materials and Systems, the universities pool their complementary expertise in the disciplines of materials science, physics, chemistry, computer science, mechanical engineering, process engineering and electrical engineering. The scientists pursue the vision of researching system-capable materials for future-proof energy technologies.


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College for Social Sciences and Humanities
The College for Social Sciences and Humanities promotes excellence in research in social sciences and humanities and advances international cooperation. It provides opportunities for innovative research projects and facilitates interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. The fundamental cornerstones are research professorships, research groups, and an international senior fellowship programme.


In addition, the UA Ruhr merges its complementary strengths in the innovative and promising research areas of metropolitan research, empirical economic research and Energy-System-Transfromation and offers its scientists a platform for collaboration.

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