Speaking with our colleagues from RTL.lu, the new rector stated that the institution wants to become a research university and focus on interdisciplinary research groups. Kreisel, a graduate physicist, has been at the helm of Uni.lu since 1 January and wants to focus on different areas, including medicine and health.
He pointed out that the university started a bachelor’s programme a few years ago, with the first students graduating in 2023. Kreisel anticipates that the university will commission an external quality assessment of this bachelor’s programme by 2024 at the latest. Based on this evaluation, the university will decide with the government whether to continue it and whether to take the next step and establish a master’s programme as well.
The new rectorate wants to place the emphasis on research in general medicine, oncology, and neurology. But the University of Luxembourg also wants to become more involved in the area of sustainability. To this end, an interdisciplinary centre will be opened.
According to the new rector, they are still looking for people and suitable topics in this area. Kreisel noted that the university purposefully avoided a top-down approach in deciding whether to link the centre to broad subjects like climate or biodiversity or to more specialised fields like smart agriculture or circular economy. “All of these topics are important for Luxembourg,” according to Kreisel, but it ultimately comes down to “a really good concept” and qualified individuals to make it a reality.
Kreisel stressed that the university’s various ambitions should be realised through concrete projects. To achieve this, the university encourages people from different fields, such as physics, medicine, or economics, to get involved.
