Becoming a champion of change with knowledge
Nowhere is the transformation of recent decades more evident than in the lecture halls: Whereas in 1965 there were still around 300,000 employees in the mining industry and not a single university in the Ruhr region, today the children and grandchildren of the miners populate 22 universities together with fellow students from all over the world. Around 258,000 students can choose from 400 courses of study - from automation and safety to dentistry.
Decades of investment in the higher education landscape have transformed the Metropole Ruhr into a science location where the interaction between companies, universities and public authorities represents a relevant competitive advantage. Around nine percent of companies - almost twice as many as in Germany as a whole - cooperate intensively with the scientific community and ensure positive spillover effects and broad knowledge diffusion.
Innovation centers Ruhr for founders
The Metropole Ruhr stands for strong networking of business and science. Business founders benefit: The innovation centers in the Ruhr region offer the best conditions to get your own business off the ground.
35 innovation centers with a wide range of equipment in terms of size, transport links and laboratory equipment ensure a wide choice. From short-term rentals to co-working spaces, between offices, workshops and laboratories: founders, start-ups and small companies will find the optimal powerhouse for their needs in the Ruhr region.
Our Services
- We are contact mediators between companies, science and start-ups.
- We promote cross-sectoral exchange between companies and the cultural and creative industries as creative and innovation drivers.
- With knowledge transfer, we support companies in their current skilled labor challenges. We are committed to the supra-regional perception of the Metropole Ruhr as an attractive location for young talent and skilled workers.
- We bring together regional players in the start-up scene and make the start-up ecosystem in the Ruhr region visible.
- We support cooperations with our know-how, industry-specific analyses and are the contact for exchanging experiences, questions about networks and the initiatives of the Metropole Ruhr.
The development of key technologies, the availability of skilled workers, a flourishing start-up ecosystem and sustainable economic activity are of great importance for the innovative capacity of our region. Our goal is to make the Metropole Ruhr strong in precisely these fields.
Head of Innovations & Knowledge Transfer
