Dialogue Forums on the Excellence Strategy
In July 2025, the Rectorate of Ruhr University Bochum invited all members to discuss the next phase of the Excellence Strategy. In this phase, Ruhr University Bochum is applying as Consortium of Excellence alongside TU Dortmund University, under the name Ruhr Innovation Lab. Further information and participation formats will follow.
Cooperation is a strength of the Ruhr region. This is why the ideas for the Excellence Strategy at Ruhr University Bochum are developed in collaboration with the campus community, not simply top down. At the dialogue forums in July 2025, everyone from students to professors had the opportunity to contribute suggestions for the second funding line application. In this funding line, Ruhr University Bochum is applying with TU Dortmund University as “Ruhr Innovation Lab” for funding as a Consortium of Excellence. The two institutions have a long history of collaboration through the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), which has fostered numerous connections between the Ruhr universities since 2007.
Thanks to our University Alliance Ruhr cooperation, we have a long track record of successful joint initiatives – a special feature of our Ruhr region alliance.
“Two for three” is how Bochum Rector Professor Martin Paul described the application’s motto during the event. Ideally, the application would have been possible as a three-way alliance with the University of Duisburg-Essen. However, since the formal requirements for this were not met, Bochum and Dortmund enter the competition as a team of two. “Thanks to our UA Ruhr cooperation, we have a long track record of successful joint initiatives – a special feature of our Ruhr region alliance,” Paul emphasized.
During the dialogue forums, Professor Manfred Bayer, Rector of TU Dortmund University, and the Rector of Ruhr University Bochum jointly provided information on the next steps in the Excellence Strategy. Participants then discussed the Excellence Strategy’s core topics with the rectors and other members of the rectorate, as well as with staff from the Department of University Development and Strategy. These topics included, for instance, research, transfer, teaching, and governance. The ideas will be incorporated into the process of the proposal preparation, which has to be submitted by November 12, 2025.
In addition to the Ruhr Innovation Lab from Bochum and Dortmund, ten other alliances and individual universities have declared their intention to apply in the second funding line. Furthermore, ten defending titleholders are also eligible. Up to 15 concepts will be funded in total.
