From Harvard, Yale or Princeton universities, they are coming to Bochum, Duisburg, Dortmund and Essen: For two months, nine students from the USA are getting to know the Ruhr region. They are taking part in the Ruhr Fellowship Program 2021, a joint initiative of the three UA Ruhr universities. Since June 7, the American guests have been learning about research, industry, culture and language. The program is taking place virtually for the first time.

The experience starts with a two-week summer school at the universities of Bochum, Dortmund and Duisburg-Essen: Students will learn about the respective research priorities, participate in lectures, discussions and virtual tours. Dr. Lutz Budraß from the Ruhr University Bochum will shed light on the history of the Ruhr region, while Prof. Jens Gurr from the University of Duisburg-Essen will give an insight into the research focus "Urban Systems". An exchange with the US parliamentarians of the NRW state parliament is also intended. In a three-day workshop organized by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Transfer at TU Dortmund University, the students will be introduced to the important steps involved in setting up a company – by planning one themselves.

The Summer School is accompanied by a German language course and presentations by companies from the Ruhr region. The online live tour of the LWL Archaeology Museum in Herne takes the students deep into the region's history. Afterwards, they go on a six-week online internship at one of the cooperating companies*.

The students come from the UA Ruhr partner universities Rutgers and Cincinnati as well as from Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Berkeley. In order to get to know each other and exchange ideas despite the online format, the participants form tandems with students from the UA Ruhr universities: Thus, they cook their favorite dishes in parallel or listen to the online concerts of the local indie folk band Threepwood 'N Strings.

The program aims to improve the image of the Ruhr area and to create long-term research and business cooperation between the Ruhr region and the leading American universities involved.

* Presentations are provided by Wilo and the Ruhrverband. Internships are offered by: Auslandsgesellschaft.de e.V, City of Dortmund, Emscher Genossenschaft, Business Metropole Ruhr, TU Dortmund University, World of Walas, and Centre for Logistics and Traffic (ZLV) at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Further Information about the program can be found in the brochure.

Contact:
Florian Vollweiler-Nelles, International Office, +49 201/18 3-2063, florian.vollweiler-nelles@uni-due.de

Editor:
Birte Vierjahn, +49 203/37 9-2427, birte.vierjahn@uni-due.de