From the European Capital of culture 2010 Essen as host city of the EMS Summer School

The Summerschool 2013 will take place in the premises of the University of Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen. With over 32000 students the University is one of the ten largest universities in Germany in the heart of the Ruhr region in North-Rhine Westfalia. The Ruhr region is the third largest conurbation in Europe with about 5.3 million people from over 170 nations in 53 cities.

Today the region is dominated by the legacy of the industrial age such as the UNESCO world heritage site “Zeche Zollverein” in the north of Essen. In the middle of the 19th Century from small settlements one of the busiest industrial areas in Europe arose. The decline of the coal and steel industry began in the 60s of the 20th Century and the region faced major challenges. A transformation from heavy industry to a service metropolis started, which was not always straightforward. Nowadays 10 of the 100 largest German companies have their headquarters in this region. The successful transformation is also expressed in a variety of educational institutions; five universities, ten polytechnics, and about 100 research institutions are located in the region that have promoted change through innovation in the past, present and in the future.

In 2010 Essen and the Ruhr region were the Cultural Capital of Europe, where the structural development was epitomized by the motto "Effecting change through culture – enhancing culture through change". This could be experienced by approx. 10.5 million visitors from all over the world. The highlights of the region are the Folkwang museum in Essen or the „U“ in Dortmund, a converted industrial building of the former “Dortmund Union” brewery, which now houses a 80000 square meter exhibition center for contemporary art. Famous architects such as Norman Foster and David Chipperfield are involved in the structural transformation of the region.

Beside the competence in membrane science at the University of Duisburg-Essen there are several companies located in this region dealing with manufacturing and distribution of membranes and membrane systems. Over 30 years ago the company Membrana started the large scale production of membranes for medical and industrial separation processes, and today it is the largest independent membrane producer worldwide. Other examples are the companies Cut and Evonik Industries which are also involved in the development of new membranes and applications.