Genazino, Günter Grass, Günter Herburger, Rolf Hochhuth, Heinar Kipphardt, Cees Nooteboom, Peter Rühmkorf, Martin Walser and . Academics International cooperation Erasmus program The university is part of the ERASMUS exchange program. International university cooperations The university also cooperates with several other international institutions of higher education. University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE)'s main partner universities University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE)'s faculty partner institutions Besides the main partnering universities, various faculty of the University Essen-Duisburg also cooperate with international universities and specific faculties or programmes (click "show" to expand). University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr As part of the University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr network the university is involved in running three liaison offices in Moscow, New York City and São Paulo. The offices aim to foster international academic exchange between the local and Ruhr area and are responsible for their respective continents. International network The university is also part of the AURORA Network of European universities. Further cooperation programmes The university is part of the IS:link (Information Systems Student Exchange Network), the VDAC (Verband der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Clubs / Federation of German-American Clubs e.V.) and offers the internationally oriented, doctoral programme "ARUS – Advanced Research in Urban Systems", which is based on previous academic achievements in selected fields within the Joint Centre "Urban Systems". Rankings Source: In Germany, there is no comprehensive university ranking because of the standardization of the universities in Germany, sharply contrasting to the university system in USA and UK. However, the institute for evaluation of universities in Germany has reported the ranking of the departments annually. In this ranking, University of Duisburg-Essen is ranked in a high position in the science and engineering field. Especially, the department of physics is ranked as the top 1 university in Germany. Measured by the number of top managers in the German economy, University of Duisburg-Essen ranked 15th in 2019. Considering their rankings in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings citation index from 2019, the University of Duisburg-Essen ranks fifth in Germany, behind Heidelberg, the Berlin Charité, Ulm and Hohenheim, thus displaying its particular scientific success and high productivity. In an international comparison of the universities most frequently cited in scientific publications, the University of Duisburg-Essen is in 103rd place. Overall, the University of Duisburg-Essen has steadily improved its position in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, making it one of the 200 best universities in the world. In the Times Higher Education Young University