News

New courses in medicine launched

  • Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM)
    University / Central Administration and Rectorate
    21 September 2021
  • Category
    Education, Research, University
  • Topic
    Life Sciences & Medicine

On 20 September 2021, the University of Luxembourg honoured students of medicine and launched the new medical specialiations. More than 70 people attended the event in Belval.

A full Bachelor in Medicine

In September 2020, the Bachelor was inaugurated. 14 students continue the second year and received a learning guide for the clinical examination, a stethoscope and a medical coat personalised with their name.

“Becoming a doctor has always been my dream and the ceremony means a lot to me. It shows the value that Luxembourg gives to future caregivers”, emphasises Martin Smejkal, a 2nd year student. Elena Deleu, Eva Cluzel and Fanny Ruyer are proud of their choice. “As there are no testimonials or reviews on this course yet, we had little perspective on the full Bachelor. Some of our 1st year colleagues went to other universities. But after a presentation of the bachelor by our teachers and an open day of the laboratories, we were convinced to stay.”

In September 2020, these students began their first year and realised. “The fact that this is a small class also contributed to our decision,” add Eva and Elena. “It will allow for real classroom lessons and you really have a feeling that there is a team spirit. This is not necessarily the case in other universities with larger classes.”

For the three students, the icing on the cake is the university library. “Sometimes we would go there as long as possible, to study but also to see other students.”

Numerous partners

Prof. Gilbert Massard, Director of Medical Studies at the University, led through the second half of the ceremony dedicated to the three medical specialisations. The Minister of Higher Education and Research Claude Meisch and Minister of Health Paulette Lenert addressed the students.

Claude Meisch promised to assess the existing courses for the future of medical training in Luxembourg. He thanked the medical students, who took up long studies for a challenging, but rewarding profession in the service of society. He promised that the Luxembourg government would do everything in its power to support them.

Paulette Lenert emphasised the wide range of medical training courses not just for Luxembourgers, but for all those who wished to study and work here. Providing a health system accessible to all could persuade graduates to settle their careers and their lives in Luxembourg.  

Marc Braun, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Nancy and Christian Debry, Vice-dean of the Strasbourg Faculty of Medicine, highlighted the many collaborations and future medical projects between Luxembourg and the Grand-Est region in France. They underlined the need to train health professions in one spacial unit, in order to allow the pooling of certain courses.  Joint training should ensure quality of care and patient safety.

Among the speakers were as well: Pit Buchler, President of the Collège Médical; Alain Schmit, president of the Association des Médecins et Médecins-Dentistes (AMMD); Philippe Türk, President of the Fédération des Hôpitaux Luxembourgeois (FHL); Sophie Hansen, vice-president of the Association Luxembourgeoise des Etudiants en Médecine (ALEM) and Diane Hoffelt-Kolbet, president of the Association Luxembourgeoise des Médecins en Voie de Spécialisation (ALMEVS) underlined the importance of these new training courses for Luxembourg.

© University of Luxembourg / Michel Brumat