Today is the first day for Professor Manfred Bayer as the new rector of TU Dortmund University. He succeeds Professor Ursula Gather who served as rector for the past twelve years. Under Gather’s leadership, the university advanced to one of the “Top50 under 50” universities in the QS ranking. With student numbers on the rise, Bayer will further improve the student-teacher ratio, expand the university’s regional and international network and attract more third-party funding.