Talk:Technical University of Dortmund

Opening heading
The official English name of the University is "TU Dortmund University". This should be reflected in the title. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.145.127.112 (talk) 17:25, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

Lemma
Could someone please change the lemma to reflect the official English name of the university? It is "TU Dortmund University", and not "Dortmund University of Technology". See for example here: http://www.tu-dortmund.de/uni/International/University/index.html --93.232.92.35 (talk) 16:53, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Name still not right
Isn't "TU Dortmund University" redundant? The "U" stands for "University", so "TU Dortmund University" really is "Technical University Dortmund University".

In English, it should be referred to as either: "TU Dortmund" or "Technical University Dortmund" or maybe "Technical University of Dortmund".

The title of the page is fine. It is the name in the opening sentence that is a problem. TundraGreen (talk) 23:35, 28 June 2019 (UTC)


 * Yes. No.
 * I do agree, it is an eyesore, and I do not miss an opportunity to make fun of the fact, but the official international name of the University sadly is "TU Dortmund University" to this day. Courtesy of the TU Dortmund Universities very own Department for Redundancy Department I presume.
 * So the name in the opening sentence IS correct and not a problem, as it is the wp:official name which shall be used in the opening sentence, especially when it is not used in the Title/Lemma. OnlyAQuestionOfTime (talk) 17:19, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: page moved to Technical University of Dortmund. Vegaswikian (talk) 20:55, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Dortmund University of Technology → TU Dortmund University – See the previous comments on this talk page. The current title sounds like an awkward try of translating the name of the university but nobody who knows it would call it like that in practice. TU Dortmund, TU Dortmund University, Technische Universität Dortmund or even Technical University (of) Dortmund would ALL be better than the current version. Please do not translate "Technische Universität" into "University of Technology" as it changes the meaning in a way. 91.39.173.253 (talk) 22:01, 25 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I am afraid most people outside of Germany have no idea what "TU" stands for (and repeats the words university twice if spelled out - Technical University Dortmund University?) I would agree to a change to "Technical University of Dortmund" (like Technical University of Hamburg, or Technical University Munich. But not to starting the article title with the unfamiliar acronym "TU".  Walrasiad (talk) 10:37, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Rename but preferably to Technical University of Dortmund. WP normally seeks to expand abbreviations. Peterkingiron (talk) 16:28, 29 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, the current article situation is definitely weird, since the current title is not used in the article itself. And in the article itself there are again two different versions used, so something should be cleaned up here. 91.39.183.196 (talk) 16:52, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Requested move 8 March 2021

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

Technical University of Dortmund → TU Dortmund University – Please change the name to "TU Dortmund University" – this is the University's official English name, as you can see on their English website: https://www.tu-dortmund.de/en/ Thank you! Tudo44 (talk) 11:30, 8 March 2021 (UTC) —Relisting. ~ Aseleste  (t, c, l) 16:35, 15 March 2021 (UTC) The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Relisting comment: Moving due to being an wp:official name is unsatisfactory, so relisting. ~  Aseleste  (t, c, l) 16:35, 15 March 2021 (UTC)
 * The arguments for not renaming a Wikipedia article listed under wp:official name do not apply in this case: None of the points under "Practicality" apply; "Technical University of Dortmund" isn't a culturally evolved name either; and many other secondary sources use the correct English name as well, for example Nature Index (https://www.natureindex.com/institution-outputs/germany/tu-dortmund-university/513906be34d6b65e6a0005b1/Life%20Sciences) or Uni Assist, the working service point for international student applications in Germany (https://www.uni-assist.de/en/tools/uni-assist-universities/detail/hochschule/316/). The name of the English Wikipedia Article of Hamburg University of Technology used to be "Technical University of Hamburg" and was changed to its official English name. The same should be possible here. Tudo44 (talk) 14:11, 25 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Just a branding request. -- Necrothesp (talk) 11:58, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

Post closure

 * Support That name will be more widely understood because it will be used more. Proudandsuccessful9 (talk) 02:59, 25 April 2021 (UTC)
 * your ideas are welcome and respected; however, they don't change the outcome of the move request. The opposition's argument is very strong, so there is still "no consensus".  P.I. Ellsworth   ed.  put'r there 03:17, 25 April 2021 (UTC)

Regarding the Naming Controversy and "Requested move 8 March 2021"
The University is, to all our great dismay as can clearly be seen above, called: TU Dortmund University. Period. That is the English name as per adopted charter of the University, and that is the name that has to be, and is, used in all official communications to an international audience. For the joke on redundancy please read above comment again. Luckily, the Wiki is not technically offical as people like us are allowed to edit it all willy-nilly (/s), therefore the name does not have to be used in the title/lemma, I understand.

After all my research, the University itself is awfully quiet on the naming front, at least to my eyes. TU Dortmund University is simply stated as a given, without any reasoning or explanation. We seem to all believe that it could just as easily have been "Technical University of Dortmund".

(HERESAY) Now, from what I've heard through the grapevine it may have something to do with accreditation, i.e. becoming an internationaly accredited Technical University like Vienna or Volgograd requires some additional steps not taken by the senate, so currently "TU Dortmund" is the name of the University, with the suffix "University" necessary to actually denote the corporations standing. So, to hammer the point home: if it were to become a Technical University, it would probably change its name to "TU Dortmund Technical University" before the penny finally drops. But again, grapevine speaking. But the only sensible explanation in my mind for this silly, silly name. (HERSEAY over)

It would be grand if we could, instead of changing the Wiki, change the official name of the University to "Technical University of Dortmund" to clear up this controversy, because "Technical University Dortmund University" is indeed a poor choice as we seem to all agree on. If anyone has any contacts to the universities administration this would be greatly appreciated.

However. As a little addendum to the move request. If you look at how other Universities, which in German all bear the prefix TU, look like on the Wiki: Technical University of Berlin, Technical University Munich, you may presume that the name of THIS page is part of an acceptable convention resulting from other universities. These Universities, however, did the smart thing and called their Uni by that name in within their charter. But, The TU Hamburg is called Hamburg University of Technology internationally, and is referred to by that name in its Wikipedia article: Technical University of Hamburg→Hamburg University of Technology

Going further, please take a little gander over here: This German University is called IU International University of Applied Sciences in English, with the IU standing for international university. I am not kidding. The German wiki page is called IU_Internationale_Hochschule which is no better. So here we have a case where both the English and the German Wikipedia page carry the redundantly redundant and clunky wp:official name, despite the argument for "practicality" which seems to have successfully blocked the move request made in 2021?

Honored  P.I. Ellsworth , I am referencing you in my edit in the hopes of acquiring the attention of a seasoned contributor, as I am in my mere humble beginnings and looking for guidance and a figurative second pair of eyes regarding this rather sensitive topic.

OnlyAQuestionOfTime (talk) 18:17, 4 May 2024 (UTC)


 * I see that my closing statement was a little unclear when I wrote, "...arguments can be strengthened with policy support,...". Please forgive me because I should have clearly stated the guideline, which is WP:RS. While the guideline applies directly to article content, in the case of "official names" of organizations and institutions, the name's usage in reliable, secondary, English-language sources is crucial. You are correct when you write, "...that is the name that has to be, and is, used in all official communications to an international audience." One challenge is that many of those sources are "primary" ones, and editors who want to strengthen the arguments should look for sources that are "secondary" – discover sources like newspapers and journals that use the official name when they write things about the university. See WP:OFFICIAL for more useful information. And thank you so much for your interest and participation!  P.I. Ellsworth &thinsp;, ed.  put'er there 19:34, 4 May 2024 (UTC)