Message from the Director

More than ten years ago I was invited to lead a new institution with the goal of creating a cutting-edge research centre. Years later, at the celebrations of our tenth anniversary in 2019, I realised how far SnT has developed beyond my initial expectations. We have achieved significant success in three distinct areas.

PARTNERSHIPS

In the space of a decade SnT has developed partnerships with almost 50 public and private institutions in Luxembourg and abroad, now representing about 20% of our turnover. These collaborations leverage our high-quality research expertise to address each organisation’s specific innovation challenges, enabling them to become more competitive. In Luxembourg we focus on areas that are relevant to the local economy, such as fintech and space systems, to encourage economic growth locally. We play a crucial role in this ecosystem by identifying synergies between public and private R&D investments locally, while also attracting international investment.

TALENT

Our focus on industry partnerships sets us apart from other research institutions – academics are drawn to SnT because of the real-world impact of our work. We attract top talent from around the world, and I am proud to lead such a skilled and diverse team. The same elements that bring these individuals to SnT also motivate many to stay in Luxembourg once they leave us; in the past ten years 36% (more than 130 people) have stayed here. In many cases they take jobs with our partners or create a start-up, continuing to fuel tech innovation within the Luxembourgish economy.

RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

Throughout these ten years our pursuit of research excellence has been constant, and we are only beginning to see the results of our dedication to high-calibre scientific work. The University of Luxembourg is now ranked in the top 100 Universities globally for Computer Science, according to the Times World University Rankings. We have also received three advanced grants from the European Research Council (ERC), a significant achievement that underlines the value of what we are doing at the European level. The FNR, Luxembourg’s research funding body, also recognises our work having awarded three of their prestigious PEARL grants to SnT.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

In 2019 these three elements continued to enable our success. We welcomed five new partners – the CSSF, Megeno, PayPal, Ripple, and Vail Systems, three of which are companies based in the US. International collaborations such as these will be a focus area as we look towards the future. Additionally, we will continue to build our momentum in fintech while diversifying into the service industry; pursuing more partnerships with the insurance sector and regulatory bodies, as well as moving into legal tech.

Through cutting edge scientific research, we will become even more crucial in the next ten years as a driver of innovation in the country, and with the strong foundation we have put in place I am confident that we are ready.

Prof Dr Björn Ottersten

Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust