Michel Goedert, British-Luxembourgish Neuroscientist, is reflecting on an extraordinary research career. In his book “BEGINNINGS: Looking back on twenty years in the Conseil de Gouvernance de l’Université du Luxembourg” (Point Nemo Publishing), Michel Goedert also retraces the activities of the Conseil de Gouvernance from January 2004 to November 2023.
The University of Luxembourg is the only University in a small, multilingual country, where major changes in economic development have taken place over the years. It carries important responsibilities towards students, researchers and staff, as well as to Luxembourgish society. Michel Goedert is a Programme Leader and former Head of Neurobiology at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. He put pen to paper to document the first twenty years of the Conseil de Gouvernance of the University of Luxembourg.
Michel Goedert was a member of the University’s Conseil de Gouvernance from its founding in January 2004 until November 2023.
The University’s board has steered the University through numerous milestones and evolutions. What do you take away from 20 years in witnessing and guiding these?
The current model works best when the Rector and the Conseil de Gouvernance are singing from the same hymn sheet, with the Rector firmly in the driving seat. It is essential for the Rector to have enough authority to avoid being caught between the demands from Faculties, Interdisciplinary Centres and the Conseil de Gouvernance. Even though this approach has been beneficial most of the time, it may have to be adapted in future, especially given the development of medicine at the University of Luxembourg.
What are the main recommendations that you would provide to steering committees of new or large public institutions?
I recommend having a plurality of voices, with a Chair who distils the differing opinions into a consensus position.
Can you give us some insights into the research and documentation that went into creating BEGINNINGS?
I read everything about the University of Luxembourg that I could lay my hands on. The minutes of the Conseil de Gouvernance meetings were particularly useful. What was most important, though, was the ambition to create a Research University in Luxembourg, together with my experience as a research scientist.
Interested persons can purchase the book online from Point Nemo Publishing: