Marc Hansen, Minister Delegate for Higher Education and Research, outlined the preliminary draft law for a new legislative framework for the University of Luxembourg, which was adopted by the Council of Government at its meeting on 31 March 2017.
The proposed law, which will replace the 2003 law creating the University of Luxembourg, aims to provide the legal basis for the adaptation of the organisation and functioning of the University. According to the Ministry, this is not a matter of questioning the profile of the University as defined on its founding in 2003, but of preserving its international character, the close link between teaching and research, and the institution’s inter-disciplinary approach, as well as the multilingual character and mobility of students and teacher-researchers.
The new text aims to strengthen the organisational and decision-making autonomy of the University, to consolidate and complete the scaffolding of the decision-making bodies, and to structure governance, decision-making processes and forms of governance more clearly. Student participation in decision-making is rooted in the law by the creation of a student delegation.
The draft law proposes to revise the different categories and sub-categories of staff and to strengthen the requirements for quality recruitment. In addition, career prospects are introduced for different categories of teachers.
The organisation of studies according to the architecture recommended in the framework of the Bologna process (Bachelor / Master / PhD, ECTS credits, diploma supplement) is maintained. The University is given the opportunity to specify the details of studies in a study regulation, which will be decided by the governance council. In order to improve legal certainty, many provisions concerning the organisation of studies and the methods of evaluating students are now included in the legislative text.
Finally, the draft law includes a number of provisions to encourage the University's collaboration with other research institutions in Luxembourg. Thus, the possibility of conferring on researchers engaged with another research organisation established in Luxembourg the title of affiliated professor is created. The scope of the recipients of the authorisation to conduct research is extended to both affiliated professors and researchers outside the University.
