University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr (UAMR) is a university network of the three neighbouring universities of Bochum, Dortmund and Duisburg-Essen, connecting 89,000 students, 1250 professors, and a unique diversity of disciplines. The aim of the alliance is to promote the strengths of the individual universities and pursue common research and teaching programmes with the objective of establishing the Ruhr as a region of higher education excellence.