1. Merger as Strategic Project
The Case of the University of
Duisburg-Essen, Germany
HEDDA Conference
University of Oslo
November 4, 2011

2. 1. Context
2. Mergers
3. The merger of the universities of Duisburg
and Essen
4. Critical success factors

3. Mergers in Germany
• The University and the Polytechnic in the city of
Luneburg, Lower Saxony (2004)
• 3 smaller Polytechnics in different cities in
Lower Saxony (2000), reversed in 2009
• University of Technology of Karlsruhe and
Helmholtz Research Centre (2006)
• 2 Universities in the two cities of Essen and
Duisburg (2003)

4. UDE: Two cities, two campuses

5. Two medium seized universities (2003)
Duisburg Essen
Students
ca. 15.000 ca. 21.000
Positions 2003
ca. 208 Professors ca. 297 Professors (+ ca. 77 Medicine)
ca. 390 Academic Staff ca. 431 Academic Staff (+ ca. 643 Medicine)
ca. 561 Admin. and technical ca. 775 Admin. and technical Staff
Staff
Budget
ca. 113 Mio € ca. 137 Mio € + ca. 367 Mio € (Medicine)
Third Party Expenditures
ca. 20 Mio € ca. 39 Mio € + ca. 18 Mio € (Medicine)
Subjects
Full Range (without Medicine Full Range (without Law)
and Law)

6. Profile and Budget (2010)
Academic Subjects
• Humanities (Languages, Culture, Theology, Education)
• Social sciences, Economics, Business Administration
• Sciences
• Life sciences, Medicine, University hospital
• Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil)
Budget
448.2 mill. € total revenue
(114.3 mill. € Faculty of Medicine)
91.5 mill. € revenues from third-party funds
(29.2 mill. € Faculty of Medicine)

7. Personnel and Students (2010)
Personnel
415 professors
2,529 academic staff
1,325 administrative and technical
services(without Medicine)
Students
34,016 students (41 % female, 15 % international)
10,120f first-year students (54 % females, 17 %
international)
3,996 graduates (56 % female, 13 % international)

8. 1. Context
2. Mergers
3. The merger of the universities of Duisburg
and Essen
4. Critical success factors

9. Some characteristics
1. Main drivers:
• Efficiency and Effectiveness (“Do more and
better with less”)
• Higher visibility and reputation
2. Means: Transfer of quantity to quality (e.g. more
professors enable deeper specialisation and better
research)
3. Risks: All energy to the internal structure and little
attention to stakeholders (“Exhausting process of
self-occupation”)
4. Governance and Leadership: Universities as
“Professional Organizations” and loosely coupled
systems.

10. Immediate costs, long term wins
Pre-Merger Merger Post-Merger
Vision and
Conception
(Due Diligence)
Implementation
Continuous
Improvement

11. 1. Context
2. Mergers
3. The merger of the universities of Duisburg
and Essen
4. Critical success factors

12. Course of Events
02/2001 Final Report of Expert Group set by the Government NRW
09/2001 Start of negotiations between the two universities (external
moderator till autumn 2002);
Spring 02 Voting out of the rector in Essen
Summer 02 Merger by Law: Dissolution of the two universities and
incorporation of the new University of Duisburg-Essen (12/02);
Timetable for Merger from 1/03 – 12/2006
12/2002 Legal action against appointment of Founding Rector by the
state government
01/2003 State commissioner (till 09/2003)
Spring 03 Joint search committee for Founding Rector, rule of unanimity
10/2003 Coming into office of the Founding Rector
11/2003 Election of 4 new Vice Rectors, 2 from each campus
12/2003 The two Heads of Administration early released
06/2004 Coming into office of the new Head of Administration

13. Objectives 2003
• Academic Structure of Campuses (Profiles)
– Complementary Profiles
– Interdisciplinary connections
• Finances
– Internal redistributing
– Little additional costs
– Better position in the performance based
budgeting system of the state NRW
• Quality
– Strengthening of research capacity (Problem:
Past as complementary universities)
– Attractiveness of study programs

14. Policy of “two speeds”
2004: Structure
• Academic profiles of campuses
• Organisational structure (Academic, Services)
2005: System of Strategic Planning
• Central goals
• Decentred strategic development
• Contract Management
• Budgeting system
• Controlling
2006: Quality, Evaluation, Improvement
• Evaluation of Structure
• Quality Management System

15. Decentralization
Central
Steering
Decentral
Steering
2003 2004 2005 2006

16. „Change Management“
• Kurt Lewin: Defreeze, change, refreeze
• Communication: Each semester “Plenary
assembly”
• Acting and Reflecting: Once a year a “strategy
workshop” outside the university with the new
Deans and the administrative management

17. „Ideal” Profile
Duisburg Essen
Social
Sciences
Economics
Life Humanities
Engineering
Sciences
Infor- School of
mation Education
Systems
7

18. Achieved Profile (2006)
Duisburg Essen
Physics, Civil
Engine
Information ering Humanities
technology,
Engineering School of Economics,
Manage- Information
Social ment systems School of
Sciences Education
Life
Sciences
6

19. Elements of the QM-System (2006)
Informationssystem:
Information-System
Lehrevaluation, Absolventenbefragungen,
Monitoring, Controlling
Controllingdaten, Rankings
:
Evaluation
Peer Review
Inst. Evaluation Performances
Entwicklungspl ä ne
QE
Institutional
Institut. Evaluation Facultieshige as
strategief ää re ZLVZLVdem
Strategische Planung
mit
mit dem ZfH
Universit Rectorate
Mit dem
Evaluation Strategic Units
Organisationseinheit
Einheiten Rektorat
mit dem Rektorat
Rektorat
Self Report
Metaevaluation Strategische Ziele
Strategic Goals
Umsetzung
Personal -/Organisationsentwicklung
Personel Development

20. Perfomance indicators 2001 - 2010
2001 2003 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010
Doctoral Degrees 169 251 241 250 260 208 236
(without Medicine)
Doctoral Degrees 310 386 420 387 402 342 419
(incl. Medicine)
Graduates 2.257 2.362 2.488 3.442 3.584 3.993 4.065
(Incl. Medicine)
Number of Students 36.314 37.039 33.816 30.691 31.080 31.839 34.026
First-year Students 7.702 8.919 8.179 6.519 7.529 7.094 10.130
Third party 34.219 37.731 33.739 41.126 43.186 47.849 60.021
expenditures
(without Medicine)
Thereof German 12.149 12.026 9.993 12.282 13.700 14.667 16.961
Research Funding
Organization

21. 1. Context
2. Mergers
3. The merger of the universities of Duisburg
and Essen
4. Critical success factors

22. Critical factors for success
• Pre merger: Due diligence, more than a “management
fad”
• Merger : Internal Structuring vs. „Regular Business“
• Time: „Quick and dirty“ vs. Sustainable and Slow”
• Balance between Stability and Change (Lewin)
• Extra financial support during the merger stage by the
government
– Performance Budget
– Buildings, IT, Libraries
• In case of two campuses: The subject identity replaces
slowly the local identity

23. Leadership and Governance
Goal Setting by Leadership
„Machine Model“ „MPM-Model“ (MbO)
Hierarchy Competition
Process Structure 2004 Contract Management
2005 Process
Setting by
Setting
Leader-
by the
ship „Systemic Model“ „Gardener Model“ system
Observation, Reflection Trust and Evolution
Institutional Evaluation Continuously
2006
Goal Setting by the system