2022/23 Academic Year: Higher Education & Research to Focus on Consolidation, Coherence

On Thursday 13 October 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Higher Education and Research, Claude Meisch, presented the main developments in the fields of higher education and research for the start of the 2022/2023 academic year during the traditional press conference.

As announced during the press conference for the start of the 2021/2022 academic year, a bill aimed at organising higher education was tabled in the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg's parliament) on 7 October 2022. It aims to replace the law of 19 June 2009 on the organisation of higher education and therefore firstly to define the general framework of higher education in Luxembourg. The latter includes study programmes leading to the Superior Technician Certificate (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur  - BTS) offered by high schools, study programmes offered by the University of Luxembourg and those offered by accredited specialised higher education institutions.

According to the ministry, an important new aspect in this context is the protection of designations (such as 'university' or 'specialised higher education institution') and titles (such as BTS, bachelor's, master's, doctor/doctorate) aimed at ensuring that only institutions recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research may use the titles and designations in question. In this context is also introduced the title of "doctor in medicine", which will be conferred jointly with the diploma of specialised studies in medicine of the University of Luxembourg.

Like the 2009 law, the new text also organises two components of higher education in Luxembourg, namely the programmes leading to the BTS and the programmes offered by accredited specialised higher education establishments.

With regard to programmes leading to the BTS, the work-study BTS model, alternating theoretical teaching in high school and internships in a professional environment, will be anchored in the law. In addition, all internships that are an integral part of BTS programmes will now fall under the law of 4 June 2020 amending the Labor Code in order to introduce an internship system for pupils and students, which implies that the internships of a minimum duration of four weeks shall be compensated under the provisions of this law. In addition, the existing derogations for internships in the context of higher education leading to regulated professions will be abolished. Aid for the promotion of work-study BTS training will be granted to training organisations that will supervise a student trainee enrolled in such a programme.

With regard to accredited specialised higher education establishments, these will be able, in the context of the new law, to offer training leading to bachelor's and master's degrees. With a view to strengthening the coherence of the Luxembourg higher education system, the basic principles which these programmes must satisfy in terms of organisation and implementation are aligned with the relevant provisions of the law of 27 June 2018 whose purpose is object the organisation of the University of Luxembourg.

With regard to the accreditation of programmes leading to the BTS and of programmes offered by specialised higher education establishments, the consistency of procedures and evaluation criteria has been strengthened. All accreditation requests, whether for BTS courses or study programmes offered by specialised higher education institutions, will now be assessed by the same quality assurance agency, namely the Dutch agency- Flemish NVAO.

“Through this bill, we aim to create a solid and coherent framework in terms of the organisation of higher education and thus achieve an important point in the 2018-2023 government programme,” said Minister Meisch.

Student life

In terms of student life, Minister Meisch returned to the adaptations to financial aid for higher education, decided within the framework of the agreement following the meetings of the tripartite coordination committee in April 2022 and which apply from the academic year 2022/2023.

He also presented the concept of the 2022 Student Fair, which will take place face-to-face on 27 and 28 October 2022 from 09:00 to 17:00 at Campus Belval and will bring together 94 exhibitors from seventeen different countries, mainly university representatives and higher education establishments as well as student associations and circles. In addition to interacting with exhibitors at their booths, visitors will have the opportunity to take part in campus tours and interactive webinars. In addition to this face-to-face component, the digital platform www.studentefoire.lu, available from 24 October to 28 December 2022, will allow students and interested persons to consult and download information material made available by exhibitors present at the Fair and by 86 additional exhibitors, present exclusively on the digital platform.

Minister Meisch also presented the key figures for higher education for the past academic year. With regard to state financial aid for higher education, 32,689 students were granted state financial aid in the winter semester and 29,484 in the summer semester. €142.7 million in aid has been granted for the 2021/2022 academic year in the form of scholarships and €117.0 million in the form of loans. Germany remained the preferred country of study for resident students (4,753 students), followed by Luxembourg (4,072 students) and Belgium (3,536 students). With regard to higher education in Luxembourg, 856 students were enrolled in the 34 BTS level courses offered in 2021/2022. 336 BTS diplomas were issued in 2021/2022 – as many as ever before. The University of Luxembourg had 6,990 students of 135 different nationalities.

Statistical data concerning higher education can now also be consulted via a newly implemented dashboard.

Developments in the field of research

Finally, Minister Meisch presented the main developments in the field of research, with in particular the creation of a national data exchange platform (PNED). The PNED, created in July 2022 as an economic interest grouping (GIE), aims to enable the use of data accessible to the public sector for purposes of public interest, while emphasising data protection. Rather than a technical platform, it is a research infrastructure offering the services necessary for the exploitation of data in compliance with the legal framework in force with regard to data protection. Alongside legal and technical services, it also aims to offer training content and produce information materials on the use of data for research and innovation purposes or for public utility purposes. The founding members of the GIE are, in addition to the State, the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).

Finally, Minister Meisch returned to the government's recent decision to integrate the activities and staff of the Luxembourg Max Planck Institute for International and European Regulatory Procedural Law in the medium term into the University of Luxembourg. The government thus wishes to continue consolidating research governance in Luxembourg through closer coordination and cooperation between public research stakeholders, as provided for in the 2019 national research and innovation strategy. Activities of the Max Planck Institute at the University of Luxembourg will make it easier to integrate them into this coordination effort by harmonising the governance models of research institutions benefiting from public funding and by strengthening a model for promoting excellence science specifically adapted to the characteristics of Luxembourg.