University of Luxembourg to focus on quality and technology transfer

The University of Luxembourg aims to put more effort into enhancing its international reputation as a research institution and become more involved locally in promoting the country's future. To achieve this, it plans to consolidate what has already been achieved, invest in quality and transfer scientific knowledge to the economy. This is the direction the institution, which is now almost eleven years old, will take between 2014 and 2017. These priorities are set out in the new multi-year service agreement (“Contrat d’établissement”) between the university and the government, which university president Rolf Tarrach presented today.

The university will also continue to focus on multilingual courses and personal support. For instance, Masters students will in future also be given a tutorial in the first semester. Courses are to be assessed in terms of the employability of graduates and an "educational charter" is to be adopted in which professors and students will play an active role in the quality of teaching through such measures as systematic mutual evaluation. There are also plans to extend the range of continuing professional training offered to people in employment.

As a research institution, the university is aiming for a high percentage of Masters and PhD students. The target is for 37 percent of all students in Bologna study formats to fall within this category. The main research disciplines continue to be computer science, law and especially European law, finance and educational sciences as well as interdisciplinary research conducted by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB).

Academics are keen to focus not only on classic fundamental university research but also on technology transfer to business and contacts with industry in general. In concrete terms, the agreement specifies that the university must apply for a dozen patents and generate three spin-offs from its research activities in the next four years. "In the first ten years, we successfully gained the support of the general population. We now want to get more companies on-board so we can help them develop innovative products and services and create opportunities for our graduates", says university president Rolf Tarrach.

Under the service agreement, the government will provide the university with funding of approximately €128.7 million in 2014 and approximately €145.4 million in subsequent years. Under a review clause, the university is permitted to take new initiatives under its new president. The university aims to secure a further €140 million in external funding in the next four years.

The president announced that economy measures, especially in 2014, and postponements to certain projects are inevitable due to an increasingly short supply of state funding and the move to Belval. He made the following appeal to the nation and the government: "A university needs 30 years to mature and become an asset for the country. Its development thus far has been so positive that it merits further consistent support."