Newsletter of the Rectorate - October 2026

Dear members of Ruhr University Bochum,

With loud cheers echoing across the Ruhr region, the new semester has begun, and together with our partner university TU Dortmund University, we are celebrating a fantastic success in the Excellence Strategy. By pooling our strengths, we have convinced the expert commission in the Excellence Strategy: Our strategic partnership in the Ruhr Innovation Lab (RIL) will be funded as a Consortium of Excellence starting in January 2027.

After the overwhelming joy that has accompanied us since early October, it is now time to roll up our sleeves and turn the words (of the application) into action. We will soon be much more concrete about how we plan to get started as a Consortium of Excellence next year, and we will hold a strategy session before Christmas to do so. You can already mark December 21 in your calendars, when we will provide information on the next steps in a joint town hall meeting as a Zoom webinar.

Unfortunately, the necessary consolidation measures for our core budget are less encouraging. Not long ago, the entire university was celebrating its success in the Excellence Strategy, and now we are taking immediate and strategic measures to create more financial leeway—how does that fit together? Funding from the Excellence Strategy opens up new academic opportunities for us. However, this funding is largely earmarked for specific purposes and therefore cannot offset the structural deficit in the university’s core budget. Academic success and financial consolidation are therefore compatible: a university with a strong academic profile needs a financially sustainable core budget.

For this reason, we have adopted a package of immediate measures and begun developing strategic initiatives. Our goal is to create more room for the university’s scientific development in the long term. There is a good reason why all of this is titled “Financial Sustainability 2035”—we are confident that it will place our university on a sound footing.

Together with you, our alumni, our long-standing partners in the University Alliance Ruhr, and supporters from Bochum and the region, we would like to look back on this truly moving year at our Academic Year Celebration and, above all, look to the future. Of course, the event will be marked by our Excellence success, with a particular focus this time on art and science—two perspectives that challenge and enrich each other. We will engage in this exciting dialogue about how these two worlds can inspire each other and why their interplay is essential for a vibrant, open society. We look forward to your participation; please register here.

We wish you a good and successful winter semester at our university!

Ukraine aid: Equipment shipment and conference

In early September 2026, a special shipment left the Ruhr region bound for Ukraine. On board: laboratory equipment, scientific instruments, and IT hardware for the partner universities of the University Alliance Ruhr in the Dnipro region. The University Alliance Ruhr combines immediate support with long-term collaboration in research, knowledge transfer, and teaching.

On December 1, the Science Summit NRW-Ukraine will also take place at Zeche Zollverein in Essen, supported by the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia. The conference is primarily aimed at researchers and instructors from the UA Ruhr; registration is possible until November 15, 2026.

Realignment of Ruhr University’s Foundation

Our Foundation is undergoing a strategic realignment. The foundation supports outstanding ideas and talents in realizing their full potential. Going forward, it will operate through annual calls for proposals centered around a specific funding theme. Our vision is to actively shape the future of Ruhr University Bochum and have an impact on the region. Rector Martin Paul and Managing Director Susanne Seiler discuss the realignment in an interview (Geman website).

HEPchen on university development

The University Development Plan (HEP) sets the direction for the coming years. What does it contain? Members of our community report in the “HEPchen” series (German website) in brief why this is so important for the future of our university and how we can see that RUB is making progress toward its goals.

Strengthening ties with Kazakhstan

We are strengthening our long-standing ties with Kazakhstan. Germany and Kazakhstan are deepening their strategic partnership. As part of a stronger network of higher education institutions, we are contributing with new collaborations in research, education, and industrial innovation. Joint research, academic exchange, and the training of qualified specialists will sustain the partnership in the long term.

Ruhr Innovation Lab Future Dialogue

Collaboration with TU Dortmund University within the future Consortium of Excellence Ruhr Innovation Lab is taking concrete shape. The first network meeting of the RIL was a resounding success. The Future Dialogue focused on one of the most pressing issues of our time: AI and digital sovereignty. Around 80 guests from politics and business were welcomed by NRW Science Minister Ina Brandes, who encouraged us to pursue innovative paths in our cluster: “More Experimentation!”

Ruhr Innovation Lab contributes to gamma-ray observatory

Research collaborations abound—one example: the Ruhr Innovation Lab is contributing to the construction of the world’s largest gamma-ray observatory. Four giant mirror telescopes are being put into operation on La Palma. Astrophysicists from the Ruhr Innovation Lab at Ruhr University Bochum and TU Dortmund University are part of the German consortium (German website).

Over one million supported by Erasmus

Spending a semester abroad: Since 1987, over one million students across Germany have taken this step with Erasmus+. One of them is Rike Hülsmann, a student at Ruhr University Bochum who spent a semester at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. Representing all Bochum students who have studied abroad with Erasmus+, she received a One in One Million certificate this summer.

European funding for UNIC

A major success for us and our European university alliance UNIC (*European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition): The UNIC project BLENDS (Boosting Learning in Entrepreneurship through New and Deepening Alliance Synergies) was selected from 138 applications submitted across Europe. Since September 2026, UNIC has been awarded two million euros over a two-year period to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurial skills within the alliance.

Ruhr University gets more colorful: Updated corporate design

More colors, greater flexibility, and more accessible design: On September 30, 2026, Ruhr University Bochum unveiled its updated design. The transition to the revised corporate design will take place gradually and is expected to be completed by the end of 2028. The updated templates are available for immediate use—you can download them from Ruhr University’s brand portal.

Further news recommendations for you

Outstanding entrepreneurial commitment recognized: Clara Saraceno from the RESOLV Cluster of Excellence received the UNIPRENEURS Award. Christof Paar from the Max Planck Institute in Bochum also deserves congratulations—and we warmly congratulate both!
Global Hunger Index 2026: Hunger is on the rise again. Our Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict and Welthungerhilfe presented the latest report (German website).• “The merger makes both stronger”: Interview (German website) with Annegret Pinhack, Head of the new Central Operating Unit “Language Center”, reflecting on an initial period.
UA Ruhr Research Community: Kickoff on the topic “Diversity and Society”. The UA Ruhr-wide Research Community invites all interested researchers to the kickoff meeting (German website) on November 6, 2026.
Ten years of Method Center: Impulses for your own empirical project. Over 3,000 students have already attended workshops at the Method Center. A review (German website) on this milestone anniversary.

Last but not least…

… November is once again dedicated to Open Science. A variety of formats will offer tips and information for beginners and professionals alike. Scientific data, findings, or teaching materials have greater impact when shared. How best to do this and what to consider will be the focus of the Open Science Month, kicking off on November 3, 2026.