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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 photo of the new UA Ruhr ECR Board © Martina Hengesbach ​/​ TU Dortmund
    Early Career Reseachers

    New Committee Strengthens Careers in Science

    In the Early Career Researchers Board, members of the three partner universities discuss joint support programs.

  • Buildings of the Ruhr University Bochum and TU Dortmund University. © RUB​/​TU Dortmund University
    Excellence Strategy

    Bochum and Dortmund will apply jointly as Consortium of Excellence

    The two universities aim to test new forms of cross-university structures, which will also be transferable to the University Alliance Ruhr.

  •  Women stand at tables and talk. © Fabian Strauch​/​UDE
    Career Development for Women

    mentoring³ Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

    On July 15, 2025, mentoring³ celebrates its 20th anniversary with a public event at the Essen campus of the University of Duisburg-Essen.

  • Eight students in front of a bush. © Tomasz Waliczko
    International Exchange

    Welcome Ruhr Fellows 2025!

    The Ruhr region remains a top address for prospective academics from American universities. Eight students from the University of Cincinnati, Lehigh University and the University of California, Berkeley are currently Ruhr Fellows at the three universities of the University Alliance Ruhr.

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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 May 2025, the German Research Foundation (DFG) announced which Clusters of Excellence will be funded from 2026. The three universities of the UA Ruhr were able to improve their status quo: In the new round, the DFG approved three Clusters of Excellence with the participation of Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Find out more about the Cluster of Excellence within University Alliance Ruhr

Cluster of Excellence RESOLV - Ruhr Explores Solvation

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

The Cluster of Excellence RESOLV has put a focus on the solvent and established a new research discipline in chemistry. The consortium will enter its third funding period in 2026. The Bochum-Dortmund team is going to continue its successful interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen and the three Max Planck Institutes for Coal Research, Chemical Energy Conversion, and Sustainable Materials. While biological and chemical reactions typically take place in a solvent, solvents have traditionally been considered a mere bystander in the process. The RESOLV team has shown that the role of the solvent has been underestimated, as it actively takes part in chemical reactions. The upcoming funding period is intended to gain an even better understanding and ability to regulate solvent-controlled processes.

Find out more about the RESOLV Cluster of Excellence

Cluster of Excellence CASA – Securing the Digital Society

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

The Cluster of Excellence “CASA – Securing the Digital Society” will significantly strengthen the resilience of the digital society by developing next generation security solutions that holistically protect large-scale (socio-)technical systems. Cyberattacks now increasingly target not just individuals and companies, but also hospitals, government services, higher education institutions, and critical infrastructure. Attacks are increasingly being carried out by state attackers pursuing geopolitical interests. The emergence of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and blockchain is creating numerous new opportunities, while also increasing the associated risks in the digital space.

Find out more about the CASA Cluster of Excellence

Cluster of Excellence Color meets Flavor

Illustration of particles in an accelerator that come from a diffuse source towards the viewer, in white, pink and yellow stripes © Igor Kapustin​/​stock.adobe.com

In the new Cluster of Excellence “Color meets Flavor” researchers from TU Dortmund University, the University of Bonn, the University of Siegen, and Forschungszentrum Jülich will jointly search for new phenomena in the interaction of fundamental particles. The existence of dark matter and the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe indicate that our understanding of nature is still incomplete. Even though almost all measurements in particle physics can already be accurately described by the Standard Model of Particle Physics, deciphering the structure of matter at the subatomic level remains one of the most pressing questions in fundamental physics research.

Find out more about the Color meets Flavor 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