TU Dortmund University (German: Technische Universität Dortmund) is a university in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with over 20,000 students, and over 3,000 staff. It is situated in the Ruhr area, the fourth largest urban area in Europe. The university is highly ranked in terms of its research performance in the areas of physics, electrical engineering and chemistry. The University of 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.