University Portal

“Teaching values” – what does this mean? The teaching of values or the role of values in teaching?

Both. For the university, the task of teaching values is an extremely important one. Some 34,000 young people study here, and we have to provide them with more than just specialist expertise. In particular, we have to foster an awareness that they can adopt a position of responsibility within society, one which transcends individual lifestyles. This term also encompasses the fact that values play a role in the teaching of individuals.

For example?

The university is tasked with training and education. It must take care to impart not only specialist skills, but additional capabilities as well: developing confidence in one’s own abilities, taking responsibility for oneself and for others, seeing the bigger picture, and not viewing one’s own discipline as the centre of the universe, but as one aspect of all that can be known about the world.

The radio station Deutschlandfunk said: “Academia (...) and the university as an educational institution represent the past. The university has no sense of purpose.”

The past may very soon turn out to be the future. The university as an institution is 900 years old, it has always been and will remain the only institution on this earth engaged in advancing our knowledge of the world – independent of any political, national, religious, or ethnic factors or influences – and applying that knowledge in order to make the world a better place. There is no other institution which can take on this mission. The university has survived feudalism, communism, and will, I am convinced, also survive capitalism. It can do this only if it is seen to be independent and is appreciated and trusted for that independence.

Another value...

You could say so. I am utterly convinced that we are doing right by our responsibility toward society when we resist any attempts of control by specific groups. Universities are independent think tanks.

However, they are sometimes accused – institutionally or in individual cases – of bowing too readily to economic pressures.

The university is financed by public funds, and we have to use taxpayers’ money economically. However, it would be a grave mistake to interpret economisation as a process of turning the university into a business concern and running it as such. The university can not allow itself to be controlled.

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum was the first university in this region...

...and the clever decision to set a university “right under the noses” of the local population hasn’t failed to make an impact. The proportion of women among newly appointed professors was less than five per cent, and among new students the proportion was less than 10 per cent. RUB provided access to new educational opportunities in a male- and labourer-dominated society. Today the region is regarded as having one of the densest networks of academic institutions in Europe. A society previously dominated by the coal and steel industry has, to a degree, developed into a knowledge-based society. The process is not complete, and may never be, and it is for this reason that universities continue to play an important role in this region.

Is education their only purpose?

We must, of course, also be aware of the fact that the Ruhr area has again been greatly affected by immigration in recent history. In view of this, the local universities also have a duty to act as catalysts for integration.

RUB Ruhr –a further, special value...

Indeed. With an aim beyond that of educating and training highly qualified experts. These are, to be sure, of great importance for the economic region. But integration is no less our duty. And we fulfil it quite successfully: approximately 4,500 students from over 120 countries have come here and are living together on a campus that has a cosmopolitan flair obvious to anyone with eyes and ears. It is a microcosm; young people interact with each other as a matter of course, independent of nationality or religion. Those who have experienced such interaction will find life easier in the real world and will be more understanding of cultural diversity. And that creates tolerance.

Do your graduates remain in the region and enrich it?

This is not a one way street. The qualifications we provide also support mobility and enable young people to leave the Ruhr area; there are, however, many who come to the region and stay. Constant comings and goings – isn’t that what makes a metropolis? We contribute significantly toward this development in the Ruhr area, which can surely benefit from an infusion of international flair.

A challenge?

Certainly. This is not as difficult for universities as it is for other institutions – nevertheless, it cannot be taken for granted. This is the reason we have developed an international strategy. It is not fixated on numbers, but is instead characterised and inspired by the ideal of the classical “universitas” as a community of people learning from each other and with each other. This can only be experienced at a university. Only here can this ideal be realised in this unique form and across all national, cultural, and ethnic contexts.

The focus is increasingly on “universitas”. Is this a distinctive feature of RUB?

Yes, but it is not exclusive to RUB. Lately many universities have recognised that their existence is based on this ancient value, which was threatened with extinction in Germany. In Anglo-American countries, the community of academics and students remains part of the classic image of a university. Provocatively put, after the war the German university came to be regarded as a public authority, charged with producing as many graduates as possible in as short a time as possible. There was no stopping to think, and now we are re-taking lost territory.

Is that possible in the case of a commuter university?

A collegiate university with lecturers and students living together on campus has it easier. RUB is by its very construction a commuter university, and this makes it difficult to create something like a distinctive residential-campus environment. But I am sure that, in the end, the “universitas” principle make its impact felt. After not even 50 years, we may not have come as far as Tübingen, for example, but the development has started. Wait another 50 years, and university and city will have integrated to such a degree that you will indeed be able to speak of a real campus quarter.

You devised the triad “People-centred – Cosmopolitan – High-performance”. How do you remain people-centred in such a big university?

By reminding yourself time and again that the most important thing at the university is to let people rather than institutions guide your thinking. To this end, everyone must work hard and be fully committed, asking themselves constantly: are your actions in accord with this principle or not? Everything must be seen from this perspective: research funding, the involvement of students in decision-making, the relationship of administration to research and teaching.

Many criticise the architecture and exterior of RUB as “impersonal”.

Well, architecturally, RUB symbolises the boom years in Germany and the return to international significance of a society which had developed enormous industrial capacity... That’s how you build in situations like this: nevertheless, these buildings are of a style that could be located anywhere in the world. There is nothing overly German about them, the buildings provide no reference as to their location. I take this as an important architectural sign of the cosmopolitan nature of this university. It is an excellent starting point for our cosmopolitan mission. It is inherent in the architecture.

Even though all the buildings appear identical?

The fact that they are identical mirrors the equal importance of all the disciplines represented at RUB. The equal status of all academic fields coupled with a complete absence of any national references or symbols helps our work tremendously. Collaboration at this university is easy because there are no subordinate disciplines; all are equally important. And everything – from the architecture to the internal composition – is rooted in the idea of a single global community. Mind you, we are not an instrument of globalisation but rather a representation of the world in miniature – with all its problems, but more importantly in all its diversity.

“Cosmopolitanism” means long-term planning and systematic internationalisation. Does it also mean “globalisation”?

No, cosmopolitanism is the exact opposite of globalisation, a process which seeks to make everything the same. For most people, that so-called global community, with indistinguishable supermarket products, fashions, and national constitutions, holds no real attraction. Civilisation thrives on diversity. We invite that diversity; we do not want to level out cultural differences, but to create a productive, multipolar, highly-charged environment. Interpersonal discourse is necessary to generate new insights and, above all, understanding for other people. Cosmopolitanism is a direct result of “universitas” – the two belong together.