Faculty Blog

“As part of the Standing with Ukraine Programme, the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences at the University of Luxembourg currently hosts 11 researchers who have recently fled Ukraine due to the war”

Each month, on our Faculty Blog, we share an opinion piece written by one of our members. This section called "Thoughts are my own" address key societal challenges and investigates the way human gives meaning to the world. Our goal is to encourage debate and discussion among colleagues, but also with students and broader audiences.

Professors in Political Science at the University of Luxembourg who share strong connections with the United States of America reacted in the press to the dramatic events that took place in the Capitol on January 6.

The pandemic forces us to be creative. Instead of cancelling her event planned with the Ministry of Equality between Women and Men, Miriam-Linnea Hale transformed it into a webtalks series with he support of the MediaCentre.

For more than 8 months now the coronavirus pandemic changed our way of living. This is particularly true for students. A student from our Faculty share his experience of this new reality with RTL.

On April 9, 2O2O, the COVID-19 task force launched the CON-VINCE scientific study with the aim of evaluating the spread of COVID-19 infection in the Luxembourg population. The study looked at people with few or no symptoms. A representative sample of no less than 1,800 people answered a questionnaire, underwent a nasal and oropharyngeal swab followed by PCR-based virus test and ELISA-based serology tests. Psychologist and Associate professor in Public Health and Aging at the University of Luxembourg, Anja Leist joined the research team. Today she shares her experience at the heart of the COVID-19 task force.

Working with theoretical texts is just as important for most scholars as personal exchange. The TOPAS reading and discussion forum shows how both can be successfully combined in times of remote work, and that this setup can even reveal something fundamental about the human relationship to the world

Each crisis brings with it its share of revelations. The coronavirus crisis did not escape this reality. The pandemic has exposed a number of medical, economic, social and political weaknesses of our societies. Particularly, it has exposed the vulnerabilities of 21st century humankind when it comes to making reasoned decisions based on facts and data, rather than on instincts, prejudice, wishful thinking or conspiracy theories. Researchers from the social sciences department tried to understand the determinants of people’s beliefs in conspiracy theories related to COVID-19.

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the humanities and social sciences took a strong interest in this health crisis. While a lot of projects are examining the management and impact of the pandemic on our current lives, one of them wishes to look further. "Young People and COVID-19 - Social, Economic, and Health Consequences of Infection Prevention and Control Measures for Young People in Luxembourg", aims to monitor the short-term and long-term impact of the crisis on the 16-29 years old in Luxembourg.

On the kitchen corner, on the dining room table, on half the parents' desk, school invested our homes. For children, as well as for parents, the transition is not without difficulties. To support families and pre-school teachers, The Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET) launches MaGrid Explore, a free of charge mobile application to help with learning mathematics.

With schools in Luxembourg currently closed, parents have to immerse themselves in their little one’s schoolwork. Multiplication tables, grammar, spelling, all this may not always bring back pleasant memories to parents and caregivers. Fortunately, there is one subject that allows for fun while learning: science. The SciTeach Center released a series of fun activities to stay curious about science phenomena, geared towards children and families at home due to COVID-19.

The end of the pandemic is nowhere near, but Luxembourg starts to think of its exit strategy. The Government Council set up an ad hoc group to accompany the measures decided as part of the fight against the virus and to assess on a regular basis the side effects of these measures and the confinement. Claus Vögele, Psychologist and Head of the Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Luxembourg is one of the members.

In less than a month, COVID-19 has profoundly changed our daily habits. Between “home-office", “home-schooling” and only leaving our homes for basic necessities, our social interactions have been drastically reduced. Stress factors such as the loss of income, gloomy news and daily uncertainties must be added to this social isolation. If the need for social distancing measures is rarely questioned in principle, this does not mean that they are without consequences. Two researchers and their teams from the University of Luxembourg, Conchita D'Ambrosio and Claus Vögele, are launching an on-line questionnaire to better understand the impact of quarantine on the population in Luxembourg and the neighbouring countries.

Getting together to discuss research seemed so normal just two weeks ago – it was just a given. However, suddenly a tiny virus is pushing us to become more creative and open when it comes to finding virtual solutions for our real-life face-to-face encounters – the “new normal” at least for a little while form now.

Students of the University’s Master in Architecture programme have launched an initiative to produce protective masks for medical staff to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Respecting the call for social distancing, one designated student uses a 3D printer in the University’s Maison du Savoir to print the masks.

This week, Christian Wille, director of the UniGR-Center for Borders Studies, shares his thoughts and observations on borders in times of the Covid-19.
Territorial borders and social demarcation processes are becoming dramatically more important during the coronavirus pandemic. A concise example is the 25th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement that coincides with border control tightening and the closure of internal EU borders. The “Guidelines for border management measures to protect health and ensure the availability of goods and essential services” issued by the EU Commission on March 16th, 2020 currently ensure that despite the re/bordering processes, the borders remain open for tightly timed supply chains, cross-border commuters, and for a country’s own citizens.

The Covid-19 pandemic is profoundly changing our habits. Across Europe, gathering are banned or restricted, even when it comes to saying goodbye to a loved one. In some countries, funeral ceremonies are limited to close relatives ; in others, gatherings are simply prohibited. Under pressure, the burial sectors are working hard - often at personal risk - to do as much as possible to undertake funerals and make them as humane and accessible as possible within the constraints of public health measures. A mission and a tough subject that the CeMi project - of which the University of Luxembourg is a part of – discusses on its blog this week.

Three weeks. The days go by and each one seems more like the one before. Three weeks in which we changed our habits and defined new routines. “Stay Healthy” has replaced our email signatures and joining a webex meeting or ‘virtual classroom’ is now just as common as going to a classroom in the Maison du Savoir. Three weeks, the opportunity for our lecturers to look back at their first experiences of remote teaching.

The health crisis that we are going through is not only bad news. While it is unfortunate, it can also be seen as an opportunity. That’s how Johannes and Mara, two psychology students behind the start-up "GoldenMe", decided to look at it. Next week, they are launching the new service “GoldenPoteren” to help people to connect through phone calls with others.

Each crisis brings with it its share of changes. The coronavirus pandemic will be no exception. Social distancing measures required the University and higher education to migrate online. Although the integration of new technologies in education has been a priority for the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education for more than a year, we now completely depend on them to maintain our mission of education. The crisis we are going through breaks all the old resistances and accelerates our digital transformation.

Greeting the baker, the pharmacist or sharing a coffee with our colleagues each morning, all these simple social interactions that made our daily life before seem already far away. This week, on the pages of the Tageblatt, Isabelle Albert addresses the increasing risks of loneliness and isolation in this particular time.

It's been a week that Liz Weis, student from the Bachelor en Cultures Européennes, follows her courses online. Today she shares with us her first impressions as a student about this new teaching methods far away from campus.

Having a coffee at the office is almost a ritual. It begins in the morning for some, just after the lunch break for the others. It’s also a choice of a specific cup and then of the precious liquid, so espresso macchiato or black? Above all, it’s a place to meet. A break in the day that allows informal exchanges between colleagues of the same floor.

Few months ago, we were all far from imagining the situation we are living today. A deserted campus. In less than a week, the classroom were emptied, the noisy canteens went silent and only the sunrays are still entering the conference rooms of the Maison des Sciences Humaines. Everything seems to have stopped on Campus. However, you just need a few clicks online to realise that our Faculty is more alive than ever and far from being quiet.