Future Skills
UA Ruhr and Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences create degree programmes on the energy transition
- 30.05.2025
Under the name ‘International Academy for German Engineering and Science’ (IAGES), the University of Duisburg-Essen, Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University and Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences will offer four English-language continuing education programmes on the energy transition in the future. Their aim is to train specialists from Germany and abroad who are urgently needed by local businesses to meet the challenges of a climate-neutral future. The three partners of the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr) recently signed a ten-year cooperation agreement with their partner from the state capital. The first two courses will start in the winter semester.
The courses are designed to teach skills that are necessary for a sustainable future. These include technological and economic knowledge of green energy systems with a focus on hydrogen. Expertise in sustainable building design and low-emission solutions for logistics is also in demand. Applications for two master's programmes are already being accepted until the deadline on 15 July. One is the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy and Hydrogen Infrastructures offered by TU Dortmund University and Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences. The other is the Master of Science in Management of Smart and Sustainable Energy Systems, which is led by Ruhr University Bochum. The other two programmes will start in the 2026/27 winter semester.
The aim of the interdisciplinary continuing education programmes is to provide international professionals with the specific skills they need to meet the challenges of the energy transition. Each programme offers around 30 places per year. The programmes are aimed in particular at international Bachelor's graduates with initial professional experience who wish to continue their professional career in Germany. The three-semester programmes are subject to tuition fees of around 15,000 euros. However, thanks to close cooperation with partner companies, scholarships are also available, for which interested parties can apply. The programme has already met with a remarkable international response: numerous applications from all over the world – including the USA, Canada, Mexico, China, India and several African countries – testify to the global interest in a sustainable future ‘Made in Germany’.
A modern teaching concept based on problem-based learning is used. Students develop interdisciplinary solutions to real challenges and specific issues in the fields of energy and mobility transition, environmental protection and climate change. These also come from partner companies, including companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia such as Schneider Electric SE, E.ON SE, SPIE Deutschland GmbH, Arcadis Deutschland GmbH, Convex Energy GmbH, KONE GmbH and WILO SE. To create synergies, these seven companies have moved into premises on the EUREF campus in Düsseldorf. It is currently planned that the inter-university courses will also take place there.
Applications can be submitted via the Academy of the Ruhr University gGmbH. Under the direction of Dr. Yves Gensterblum, the academy is also responsible for concluding contracts with students. The overall scientific management of the degree programmes lies with Prof. Martin Faulstich, senior professor at TU Dortmund University and a proven expert in the field of sustainable technologies. The first two degree programmes are being led by Prof. Lars Lauven, Faculty of Spatial Planning at TU Dortmund University, and Prof. Franziska Schaube, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, as well as Prof. Andreas Löschel, Faculty of Economics at Ruhr University Bochum. Next year will see the launch of the Master of Science in Sustainable Logistic Solutions, headed by Prof. Ellen Enkel, Faculty of Engineering, University of Duisburg-Essen, and the Master of Science in Smart Design, Construction and Operation of Sustainable Buildings, headed by Prof. Markus König, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ruhr University Bochum.
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