The Magna Charta Universitatum (MCU) brings together universal values and principles that link universities across epochs and countries. The document was first drawn up in 1988, when the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world, celebrated its 900th anniversary. More than 950 universities on all continents have since joined the MCU. In 2020, the manifesto was renewed to emphasise the responsibility of universities in global change.

With the joint signing, the universities of the UA Ruhr have committed themselves to the values of the MCU. The Rector of UDE Prof. Dr. Barbara Albert, the Rector of RUB Prof. Dr. Martin Paul as well as the Rector of TU Dortmund Prof. Dr. Manfred Bayer classify their commitment:

"In Germany, we often take for granted the independence and inseparability of fact-based research and teaching, open in dialogue and free from political influence and economic interests. But in other parts of the world, freedom of research and teaching is fiercely contested. With the Magna Charta Universitatum, renewed in 2020, we accept the responsibility to promote university values and to address global challenges with our research in order to develop solutions to preserve the planet. Health, prosperity and intellectual enlightenment are fundamental values that universities contribute to realising through their global knowledge networking."

Universities are living actors in our society, they generate and publish new knowledge with increasing dynamism, and at the same time global trust in science is declining. All the more, the Magna Charta Universitatum aims to position universities as the places from which evidence-based research, analysis and informed action emanate.

Joint signing of the Magna Charta Universitatum 2020 by the Universitätsallianz Ruhr: Rector of the University of Duisburg-Essen Prof. Dr. Barbara Albert, the Rector of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum Prof. Dr. Martin Paul and the Rector of the TU Dortmund University Prof. Dr. Manfred Bayer.

© UA Ruhr