The University Alliance Ruhr bundles its cutting-edge, international research on pressing issues facing the future under the umbrella of the Research Alliance Ruhr in four research centers and a College for Social Sciences and Humanities. With this initiative of the Ruhr Conference, the state government seeks to underscore the Ruhr area’s strong development as a metropolis of knowledge as well as its great potential for the future. Germany's largest metropolitan area is now offering even more attractive career opportunities in science, while also creating innovations for the world of tomorrow.

In its four research centers, the UA Ruhr addresses the major issues of our time, such as health, sustainability, digitalization and energy. The centers deal with "One Health - from Molecules to Systems", "Chemical Sciences and Sustainability", "Trustworthy Data Science and Security" and "Future Energy Materials and Systems". These four areas have been chosen on the basis of their international visibility and will undergo further strategic development. The UA Ruhr will fill new professorships here in the coming years to further strengthen its interdisciplinary and international profiles.

The College for Social Sciences and Humanities, in turn, offers the thematic openness necessary for these disciplines. The college promotes international exchange by inviting visiting scholars to the Ruhr region. The renowned Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen, one of the oldest joint institutions of the UA Ruhr, serves as a well-established forum for cooperation.