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A newly-launched website celebrates and highlights the decades-long partnership between Lehigh University and Technische Universität (TU) Dortmund, one of the longest-running global collaborations in Lehigh’s history.

The site, which can be found here, offers a comprehensive look at the 26-year relationship between the two universities, featuring photos, news stories, and information about the activities, programs, and ongoing initiatives that have strengthened ties between the two universities.

"This partnership exemplifies how long-term collaboration can drive innovation and create meaningful impact on both sides of the Atlantic," said Stacy Burger, Director of Global Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives at Lehigh University. "Through shared initiatives, we’ve built a foundation for sustained growth and mutual learning."

Visit here to learn more about the partnership.

Lehigh and TU Dortmund have enjoyed an active and highly successful institutional partnership since 1998. The success of this partnership stems in part from the similarity between the two regions and the close alignment on similar issues at the universities.

The two institutions took their collaborations to the next level last year, when they hosted a symposium at Lehigh with community and business leaders to discuss best practices for developing and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in both of their communities.

The Ruhr area was once a coal-mining region that was forced to diversify its economy once that production ceased, similar to how the Lehigh Valley economy changed after Bethlehem Steel shut down. This shift sparked a greater focus on entrepreneurship and innovation in both regions and at both universities.

After that symposium, the Lehigh and TU Dortmund delegations gathered for intensive roundtable discussions to identify shared challenges in both their communities, establishing short- and long-term goals for continued collaboration.

TU Dortmund students have visited Lehigh in previous years and participated in various programs, including the Iacocca Institute’s Global Village. In March, TU Dortmund students spent a week at Lehigh during Technical Entrepreneurship (TE) Week, a week-long academic immersion for graduate students studying entrepreneurship.

More recently, Daniela Gimenez Jimenez, Junior Professor of Entrepreneurship at TU Dortmund, visited Lehigh to collaborate with Willy Das, Senior Research Scientist and Curriculum Innovation Manager at Lehigh@NasdaqCenter, on a project aimed at maintaining and enhancing the well-being of entrepreneurs.

Preliminary findings from their research were shared during a panel discussion event in October, which brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from various sectors, including current and aspiring entrepreneurs, educators, and policymakers.

“Lehigh’s collaboration with TU Dortmund and the Nasdaq Center enhances Lehigh’s global reach and impact, highlighting the importance of partnerships in cultivating a vibrant local entrepreneurial landscape, which is essential for retaining startups in the region,” Lehigh Provost Nathan Urban said at the event.

Several TU Dortmund educators also visited Lehigh in October to attend a Design Thinking course and explore best practices in entrepreneurship education, collaborating across disciplines, according to Dilista Jakupi, Product Manager at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Transfer at TU Dortmund.

Those disciplines included journalism, mechanical engineering, sustainability, statistics, and vocational education to enhance curricular and extracurricular teaching with a focus on innovation and agile methods, Jakupi said.

Additionally, Lehigh’s partnership with TU Dortmund led to an introduction to University Alliance (UA) Ruhr, an alliance between Dortmund, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and Ruhr University Bochum.

This connection created new opportunities for funding and collaboration between Lehigh and UA Ruhr, and Lehigh has hosted undergraduate and graduate students from the German institutions through the Ruhr Fellowship Program. UA Ruhr has also provided internship and scholarship opportunities to Lehigh students through OIA’s Office of Fellowship Advising.