Students, researchers and staff members celebrated the start of the academic year at the annual Rentrée Académique on Wednesday 11 October.

The master of ceremony, Vice-Rector for academic affairs Prof. Catherine Léglu, highlighted that “diversity in our student community is a great strength in academic and research terms. Student experience does not tend to be prominent in rankings, but it is a key element in reputation as well as in the health of the institution.”

In his speech, Rector Prof. Jens Kreisel described what it means for the University of Luxembourg to be a research-focused university: “Studying at a research university means that teaching and research go hand in hand. They are intertwined, like a DNA double helix. It is an opportunity for students to learn from the best in their field, with inspiring professors, PhDs and post-docs sharing their culture, curiosity, energy, and critical thinking in the classroom.”

The Rentrée Académique is also a time to recognise and honour those that stand out through their initiatives and innovations. Every year, students of each faculty vote on which teachers will receive the “Teaching Awards” for excellent teaching and personal commitment. In addition, students who make outstanding contributions to the University receive the “Student Initiative Award”.

This year’s winners were:

Teaching Awards

• Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine
  • Markus Schäfer, Professor in Structural engineering and composite structures
  • Sri Sudha Vijay Keshav Kolla, Postdoctoral Researcher in manufacturing engineering

• Faculty of Law, Economics and Management
  • Thomas Kaspereit, Associate Professor in Financial Accounting
  • Luca Ratti, Associate Professor in European and comparative labour law

• Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
  • Robert Kumsta, Professor of Biopsychology
  • Ineke Pit-Ten Cate, Research Scientist in education
  • Valentin Emslander, Doctoral Candidate in education

Student Initiative Awards

• Iranian Student Association
• ROUX Student Magazine

Honorary mention of the Student Initiative Award

Ioanna Bagia

The University community also celebrated colleagues who have gained Advance HE certificates, recognising the importance of teaching: Veronika Lovrits, Alfredo Capozucca, Luis Leiva, Tarik Camo, Lorella Viola, Thomas Schroeder, Valentin Emslander, Hooman Eslami, Renan Lima Baima, Michael Philipp Adams, Maïte Franco, Shuai Mao, Asuncion Bes Izuel, Salvador Rivas, Joella van Donkersgoed.