University of Luxembourg

University of Luxembourg
Established	2003
Rector	Prof. Dr. Rolf Tarrach
Students	ca. 6200 (10. 2012)
Location	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Colors	Blue and Red
Website	http://www.uni.lu/

Campus Limpertsberg

The University of Luxembourg is the only university in Luxembourg, founded on 13 August 2003. Prior to that, there were several higher educational institutions such as the cour universitaire or the IST that offered one or two years of academic studies. Luxembourgish students had to go abroad in order to complete their studies at a university (usually to Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom). The new university makes it possible for these students to complete their studies in their own country, as well as attract foreign academic interest to Luxembourg.

The University is currently divided into three Campuses, namely:

• Campus Limpertsberg hosting the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance and parts of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication as well as the central administration units of the University
• Campus Kirchberg hosting further parts of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Communications
• Campus Walferdange hosting the Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education

By the finalisation of the restructured campus in Esch-Belval, south of the capital, two of the three faculties will relocate there: The Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Arts and Education Sciences will first do so in summer 2014, followed by the Faculty of Sciences, Technology and Communication in 2015 and 2016. The Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance will remain on Campus Limpertsberg.^[1]

Like Luxembourg itself, the studies at the University of Luxembourg are characterised by their multilingualism. Courses are usually held in two languages: French/English, French/German, or English/German.

Studies

Campus Walferdange

The study programme is set up in the Bologna System and oriented towards the interest of young people and the needs of the employment market. Currently, students may choose between eleven bachelor's and 27 master's degrees.

• The Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication offers bachelor's majors in sciences, engineering, computer science and life sciences – with a great choice of bachelor's, and master's degrees in Information & Computer Sciences, Integrated Systems Biology, Sustainable development, Engineering Sciences, Mathematics, Condensed Matter Physics, Master en management de la sécurité des systèmes d'information, and a European Master in Small Animal Veterinary Science. The faculty also offers a specific training in general medicine.
• The Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance organises undergraduate courses in law, economics, management, and IT management. Their Masters specialise in European Law, Financial Economics, Banking and Finance, Security Management of Information Systems, Accounting and Audit, Wealth Management, and a Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
• Bachelor studies in the Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education are in European culture with a variety of minor subject such as history; in psychology as well as social and educational sciences. Master studies include Contemporary European History, Psychology, Mediation, Gerontology, Cross-border Communication and Co-operation, Philosophy, Geography and Spatial Planning, European Governance, a Master in Learning and Communication in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts, and Luxembourgish studies.

In order to strengthen the intercultural competences and to enhance personal expertise, many study programmes require an obligatory semester abroad. Here, the University of Luxembourg closely collaborates with many Universities from all over the world, amongst others with:

Europe

• Universität Basel
• Universität Trier
• Université de Liège
• Université de Paris I
• Università di Bologna
• Goldsmiths, University of London

Americas

• Columbia Law School
• Colorado State University
• Miami University
• University of Ottawa
• Université de Sherbrooke
• Osgoode Hall Law School
• Université Laval

Asia

• Tongji University
• Sophia University
• Shandong University

Research^[2]

Campus Kirchberg and surrounding area

The University of Luxembourg is a research-oriented university, focusing on the creation of new knowledge. It therefore sets high priority on a select number of well-defined fields of research, supporting also the master’s and doctoral programmes relating to these focus areas, and recruiting highly qualified researchers.

The University has framed in its current four-year plan (2010-2013) five high-priority focus areas of which the two most prominent are

• Security, Reliability and Trust in Information Technology
• Systems Biomedicine

In this context, the University has established two research centres, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), targeting research and doctoral education in the field of ICT, and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), which is partly funded by the Government within the country’s “Health Science Plan”.

SnT launched an extensive partnership programme with for example the European Space Agency, the Swiss university ETH Zürich and the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. The Centre’s projects include improved satellite systems, computer security, time-of-flight 3D cameras, vehicular networks and trustworthy voting systems.

The LCSB focuses its research on the analysis of biological mechanisms with a special emphasis on neurodegenerative diseases. The initial focus will be on Parkinson's disease. The LCSB cooperates closely with the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle, USA, with doctoral candidates spending time researching at both universities, and sharing their knowledge.

The other three focus areas defined in the four-year plan are

• International Finance,
• European and Business Law and
• Education and Learning in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts

The Luxembourg School of Finance (LSF) is the Finance department of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance at the University of Luxembourg. The general mission of the LSF today is to evaluate, deal with and anticipate future financial crises. The LSF is particularly concerned with financial crises that may adversely affect the future of Luxembourg’s economy.

In European and Business Law emphasis is placed for example on the constitutional and administrative framework of the EU, the regulation of the banking sector and the financial markets, and the establishment of a European Criminal Justice System. Luxembourg is an ideal location to conduct pioneering research and offer excellent academic training in these fields due to the proximity of the Court of Justice of the EU and other European Institutions, and a vibrant international financial sector.

As a rule, modern societies are both multilingual and multicultural. In this respect, the Luxembourgish society, made up of people from many different national origins, is a model of a modern society with accordingly high expectations towards school, education and learning. The research priority “Education and Learning in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts” assesses these expectations and their feasibility on a macro, meso and micro level analytically, empirically, and historically.

Finally, these seven additional important research fields also figure in the four-year plan:

• Interface-induced Properties of Condensed Matter,
• Luxembourg Studies,
• Environmental Resources, Technologies and Changes,
• Economy and Entrepreneurship,
• Social and Individual Development,
• Mathematics and
• European Governance.

Besides its considerable focus on research, the University of Luxembourg is characterised by its internationality, its personal supervision of students, its interdisciplinarity, and its multilingualism.

Size

In October 2012, the University of Luxembourg counted 6,200 students^[3] originating from roughly 100 countries and 213 lecturers originating from 20 countries.

The enrollment fees are generally 200 euros per semester. Enrolment for the winter semester is open from July to September and for the summer semester from January to February.

History

The University of Luxembourg is the first university in the country, yet there have a number of previous institutions that provided research and education on an academic basis. Prior to the university, there has been the Centre Universitaire du Luxembourg (CUNLUX) consisting of a department of arts and humanities (Département des Lettres & des Sciences Humaines), a department of philosophy, a department of ancient history, one for medieval history, another for modern history and one for contemporary history. In addition there have been a socio-scientific department "(ISIS - Interdépendances des Sociétés, Interaction des Science)", a centre for francophone studies (CERF - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Francophones), a linguistics department as well as an English department and an American Studies Center. Furthermore, there was a centre for the formation of teachers for the Luxemburg school system (ISERP - Institut Supérieur d'Etudes et de Recherches Pédagogiques) in Walferdange, located on the current campus site. Another institute trained graduate educators (IEES -Institut d'études éducatives et sociales), while there was also an institute for the technological formation of students (IST - Institut Supérieur de technologies).

On October 10, 2003 the University of Luxembourg was founded following the law of August 12, 2003. The first rector of the institution was the French-Canadian Prof. François Tavenas (1942–2004) who was followed by the current rector, Prof. Rolf Tarrach (*1948).

References

• Volker Zotz: Université du Luxembourg: Wohin geht die Reise? (forum 215, 2002)
• Michel Pauly und Volker Zotz: Universität Luxemburg (forum Nr. 227, Juni 2003)
• Michel Pauly: uni.lu nach dem Sommergewitter (forum Nr. 239, September 2004)
• Christian Wille: Raumfahrt. Die Standorte der Universität. In: Margue, Michel (Ed.): Université du Luxembourg 2003-2013, Luxemburg, 2013, S. 174-179.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Luxembourg.

• Official homepage
• Master in Geography and Spatial Planning
• Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Master in Information and Computer Sciences
• Student community
• Luxembourg School of Finance

Coordinates: 49°39′37″N 6°08′02″E / 49.66033°N 6.13402°E / 49.66033; 6.13402