Two universities, one mission: In our living lab, we are exploring creative ideas to build resilient societies for the future.
Ruhr Innovation Lab
Being embedded in a region that has undergone significant structural change in the past decades, Ruhr University Bochum and TU Dortmund University are aware of the major role and responsibility that universities play in such processes. Our ability to constantly reinvent ourselves has been key to successfully navigating substantial transformation milestones. Within the Ruhr Innovation Lab, we strive to pioneer profoundly different models of cooperation, fostering an environment where free thinking can thrive. Our institutions are living proof that when minds unite, possibilities become limitless.
Our vision is a university consortium of a new kind. A real-world laboratory where creative coincidence sparks the solutions for the challenges faced by future societies—in the Ruhr region and beyond.
Martin Paul, Rector of Ruhr University Bochum
The Ruhr region has only begun to unfold its full potential. Being a hotspot of excellent science, we are convinced that transformation processes around the globe can benefit from our experience and ideas.
Manfred Bayer, Rector of TU Dortmund University
Our three Clusters of Excellence
Our Alliances in Research and Transfer
Research Alliance Ruhr: Addressing Global Challenges Together
Inter-university research structures have been growing in the Ruhr area since 2021: 50 new research professorships are being created for the University Alliance Ruhr at four Research Centers and one College. Together, they are addressing pressing issues for the future: sustainable solutions for chemical processes, materials for the energy transition, trustworthy IT systems, or the health of body, mind, and environment. Topics in the humanities and social sciences are being explored with international tandem partners.
BRYCK Startup Alliance: Empowering Innovation through start-up support
The Ruhr area is one of Germany's strongest start-up hubs: In July 2025, the BRYCK Startup Alliance was selected as one of ten federal start-up factories. Here, the University Alliance Ruhr cooperates with the business alliance Initiativkreis Ruhr, the RAG Foundation, and the start-up and innovation hub BRYCK. Over the next five years, €30 million in funding will be available to support deep tech start-ups from the Ruhr area with their entry in the market.
Science Hotspot Ruhr
Worldwide Network
Our Community in Figures
The Evolution of the Cooperation
Founded in 2007, the University Alliance Ruhr has set a benchmark for academic collaboration: Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, and the University of Duisburg-Essen have jointly launched over 100 projects in research, education, knowledge transfer and administration.
At the heart of this alliance are four Research Centers and a College, established in 2021 under the label Research Alliance Ruhr, fostering critical mass in top-level research. The Research Academy unites cross-location initiatives to promote early career researchers, while three liaison offices in Eastern Europe as well as North and South America strengthen international networks. As a partner of the BRYCK Startup Alliance, the University Alliance Ruhr is teaming up with partners from the private sector bridging the gap between research, innovation and industry.
