On 06 February 2026 a student group from Hitotsubashi University (HTU) in Japan visited Duisburg for a day, while traveling through Europe for about a week. The students, who participated in HTU’s global leaders program, spent one day in Duisburg Hochfeld to learn more about the issue of “migration” in Germany.
AREA Ruhr associate Prof. Uta Hohn (International Urban and Metropolitan Studies, RUB) and her assistant Moritz Grybowski B.A. gave a guided tour through Duisburg Hochfeld, explaining the district’s historical development from an industrial quarter with many blue-collar workers to a key location for the settlement of migrants from various parts of Europe and beyond. Besides, the student group visited the Blaue Haus, a facility that works for the integration of children and young people by offering various supportive services such as homework help, joint cooking, playing and more. Nikita Grojsman, the head of the center, introduced the students to the multifaceted challenges of his job that include social work and people-to-people exchange as well as financial and administrative challenges. Before moving on to the Hochfeld District Office, the student group took a lunch break at a Turkish restaurant in the neighbourhood.
At the District office, the group was then welcomed by Laila Binkenstein who talked about her work for urban renewal, local identity and community building as well as about integration services for people with a migration background. Like with Nikita Grojsman the Japanese students asked several questions and compared the situation in Hochfeld with that in Japan. The day in Hochfeld was completed by the second part of the guided tour through the superdiverse district, providing the student group with even more input and food for thought.
The excursion was planned and organized by AREA Ruhr Prof. Katja Schmidtpott (Japanese History, RUB) who visits Hitotsubashi University on a regular basis.