Future looks Promising for Research in Luxembourg

The results of an external evaluation have predicted a bright future for public research centres in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg Minister of Higher Education and Research Claude Meisch yesterday presented the results of the external evaluation of public research centres (CRP). This represents the first holistic evaluation of the public research centres the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) since their creation and covers the years 2014-2017.

For the first time, external experts systematically and thoroughly assessed all the activities of these research centres. More than 35 international experts screened all the research departments, the central administration and governance to evaluate the different areas and activities of the CRPs according to the principle of peer review.

The results of the evaluations have suggested that the CRPs are well anchored in the socio-economic fabric of Luxembourg and that the annual allocations (some €95 million) constitute an investment in the future. Among the positive points taken from this evaluation were that the CRPs have very favourable framework conditions (salaries, budget and infrastructure), as well as a strong attraction for young researchers from all geographical horizons and good scientific performance, in some areas, even at the international level. Moreover, the evaluation confirmed the socio-economic relevance and impact of research in Luxembourg.

Regarding issues that require particular attention, the evaluation showed the need for balance between more basic and applied research, a more strategic approach to cooperation with public or private actors and more sustained efforts in the field of internationalisation and participation in European programmes.