© RTL Archiv
An external evaluation by Technopolis concluded that the University of Luxembourg performs well in research but still needs improvements in areas such as academic contracts, gender balance in key positions, and the need to strengthen the university's autonomy.
The external evaluation carried out by Technopolis, an international research and consulting organisation that advises public bodies worldwide on science, innovation, and societal challenges, looked at the period from 2018 to 2023. The findings, presented to the parliamentary committee for Higher Education, Research, and Digitalisation, described the university as relatively strong in research performance, while also issuing a series of recommendations for further improvement.
Most of the recommendations are directed at the University itself, but one has also been taken up by the Minister for Higher Education Stéphanie Obertin. She explained that the ministry supports the call to strengthen the university's autonomy and fully respects this approach.
Fixed-term contracts too short
For MP Sven Clement of the Pirate Party, the most pressing recommendation concerns fixed-term contracts. He argued that researchers need security and predictability to remain in Luxembourg, especially in such an expensive country.
In his view, researchers should not be left wondering every two years whether they will still have a contract, and long-term planning opportunities should be offered to those who want them.
Promoting gender equality within the university
The evaluation also found no evidence of a discriminatory culture between men and women at the university, but Technopolis noted a gender imbalance in key positions and persistent male dominance in certain fields.
MP Ben Polidori of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) stressed the importance of addressing this issue.
He pointed to computer science, which is currently male-dominated, as an area where more women could be encouraged, just as in other fields with more female representation, men might be drawn in. For him, the evaluation highlighted how both education and research policy could help open new pathways.
However, MP Tom Weidig of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) strongly disagreed with this emphasis on gender equality.
He argued that efforts to achieve a 50/50 gender balance in every department were counterproductive, saying the focus should be on applicants' competences rather than gender. He criticised the fact that certain scholarships and grants are now restricted to women, which he sees as discriminatory towards men.
Among the initiatives he was referring to is the Anne Beffort Programme, named after the first woman in Luxembourg to earn a doctorate in 1909. The programme is designed specifically to support young women researchers and promote greater gender equality at the University.
