On 23 April 2018, the University of Luxembourg signed an agreement with Bâloise Assurances Luxembourg in order to facilitate exchange in terms of education and recruitment opportunities for master students in computer science.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Stéphane Pallage, Rector of the University of Luxembourg and by Romain Braas, Chief Executive Officer at Bâloise Assurances Luxembourg. Professor Pallage welcomed this initiative: “I believe that partnerships like this will help the University of Luxembourg to keep in tune with the needs of the job market and offer its students opportunities to gain practical experience,” he said. Mr. Braas outlines the importance of the agreement: “We are proud to be part of this thrilling partnership. After the great results we got from the Bachelor in Applied Management partnership, this agreement gives us the chance to further strengthen our collaboration with the University of Luxembourg. Besides, it goes hand in hand with our already existing Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and it allows us to promote young, motivated talents who now get the chance to put their acquired knowledge into practice.”
Supporting and recruiting IT students
The cooperation will particularly focus on IT skills. First of all, Bâloise will support up to five students from the Master in Information and Computer Sciences (MICS) with a monthly stipend for a period of 18 months. Based on the students’ applications, the company will identify high potential candidates at the start of the Master programme in September.
In addition, Bâloise is very interested in recruiting young graduates with IT background. Thus, students from the MICS will have the chance to apply for a six-month paid internship within the company. “In our competitive business, IT graduates are increasingly in demand and it is always a challenge to find the right person with the right skills. This partnership is thus a great opportunity for our company to hire talents within this area and add a recruitment channel to the already existing ones,” comments Laurence Fransen, Head of Human Resources at Bâloise Assurances Luxembourg.
Sharing experience and encouraging PhD collaboration
The agreement also stipulates to involve Bâloise managers in participating in some lectures, workshops or other activities with students in order to share their professional knowledge and experience. Thus, students can learn about the latest trends and issues affecting the insurance sector and discover potential career paths.
According to the MoU, it is foreseen to extend the partnership to PhD education. On one hand, students from the University of Luxembourg could do their PhD in collaboration with Bâloise. On the other hand, Bâloise’s employees could pursue doctoral studies at the University.
Developing stronger ties between University and Industry
The University of Luxembourg is willing to develop more partnerships with the industry: “After the MoU signed with Ferrero in July 2017, which already shows very positive results, we seal now a new collaboration with a major player in the insurance market in Luxembourg. By striking up corporate partnerships, we have a deeper understanding of the market needs, which helps us to better prepare our graduates for success in their career,” explains Prof. Eric Tschirhart, Head of the Technology Transfer and Fundraising Office at the University of Luxembourg.