The University of Dortmund (German:
Universität Dortmund) was founded in 1968, during the decline of the coal and steel industry in the Ruhr region. Its establishment was seen as an important move in the economic change (
Strukturwandel) from heavy industry to technology. The university's main areas of research are the
natural sciences, engineering,
pedagogy/teacher training in a wide spectrum of subjects,
special education, and journalism. The University of Dortmund was originally designed to be a technical university, but in 1980, it merged with the adjacent
Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr that housed mostly humanities. In 2006, The University of Dortmund hosted the 11th
Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) RoboWorld Cup. The university's robot soccer team, the
Dortmund Droids, became vice world champion in the RoboWorld Cup 2002 and finished third in 2003. On 1 November 2007, The University of Dortmund was renamed as TU Dortmund University (Technische Universität Dortmund in German) through the adoption of a new constitution by the senate on 18 October 2007. The University is part of the cooperation program "University Alliance Ruhr", together with the
Ruhr University Bochum and the
University of Duisburg-Essen. On 4 April 2019, Ursula Gather, Rector of TU Dortmund University abolished the institutes for German Language and Literature as well as English and American Studies. ==Campuses==