The coordinator of the European University Alliance UNIC was a guest in Bochum. The focus was on strengthening cooperation.
Ruhr-Universität Bochum has been part of the European university alliance UNIC – European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition since 2020. A four-person delegation from Erasmus University Rotterdam visited Bochum from February 11 to 12, 2025. The Dutch university is responsible for leading the international network, which now consists of ten partner universities. For Prof. Dr. Semiha Denktas, who took over the role of UNIC Alliance Coordinator in autumn 2024, the visit to Ruhr-Universität was also her inaugural visit. In addition to getting to know each other, the focus of the meeting was on strengthening working relationships and looking to the future.
European alliance with charisma
The Rectorate of Ruhr-Universität Bochum welcomed the Dutch delegation to discuss strategically important areas of the alliance. These include the areas of teaching, research, transfer and diversity, in which joint activities and cooperation structures should further promote virtual and physical mobility. The UNIC student representatives offered insights into the student perspective, including operational issues relating to student mobility.
The future direction of the alliance was also discussed with the Rectorate. The Rectorate made it clear to the Alliance management that UNIC would remain a central component of the Ruhr-Universität’s internationalization activities. Alliance Coordinator Semiha Denktas confirmed the great interest of the European Union in helping to shape the European Education Area with European universities and to continue to support them in the future. “However, we find ourselves in a very competitive environment,” said Semiha Denktas. “Each alliance must focus even more on its strengths and make them visible across Europe.” The strong impact orientation and the solid cooperation landscape of the participating cities and social actors are already highly visible strengths of UNIC that make the difference to other alliances.
Sustainable entrepreneurship as a field of development
The formal reception of the delegation in the town hall by the city of Bochum, which is a permanent practice partner of the UNIC alliance, underlined the impression of the strength of the alliance. The strong impact orientation became tangible during the visit to the RUB Makerspace and the WORLDFACTORY Startup Center as a central institution of the outreach and transfer strategies of the Ruhr University. Here, the delegation met Prof. Dr. Stefanie Bröring, Academic Director of the WORLDFACTORY and holder of the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Business Models. Together with her team and staff from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Stefanie Bröring heads the UNIC Thematic Line “Entrepreneurial Learning for Innovation”. A total of seven Thematic Lines are dedicated to the key areas of post-industrial change in European cities, including super-diversity, smart cities and sustainability. “At Ruhr-Universität Bochum, we think entrepreneurship and sustainability issues are closely interlinked. This can also be an important field of development for UNIC,” says Stefanie Bröring with a view to the future of the alliance.
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Picture: RUB, Marquard.