Eurostudent VII : Students’ Study and Living Conditions in Luxembourg
Although international research has contributed largely to our understanding of social mechanisms and processes in relation to highly-qualified individuals, there is a lack of research on the situation of higher education students in Luxembourg. This is not surprising given the fact that higher education in Luxembourg is still in its infancy. Thus, little is known about the social background of students, their study and living conditions, choice of study programmes and expectations of future employment. However, this information is key and would help better tailor policy measures that aim to address students’ needs.
The international Eurostudent project
For the first time, Luxembourg is participating in the current round of the international Eurostudent project. Called Eurostudent VII, this project aims to collect information on the social dimension of European higher education to compare it across all participating countries.
Every three years, a survey is distributed to all higher education students from around 30 countries to collect data and opinions on their socioeconomic backgrounds, living conditions and mobility during their studies.
The data gathering and analysis period for this round is set for 2018-2021.
A complex student population
In close collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the research team of the University of Luxembourg is conducting the quantitative online survey of tertiary education students. In May 2019, 7,500 higher education students in Luxembourg (University of Luxembourg, private universities, BTS study programmes) were invited to take part in this survey. The research team reached about 19% of students by incentivising them.
The student body in Luxembourg is rather small and the essential information could not be derived from existing secondary statistical data.
Luxembourg’s student population incorporates different social groups (parental levels of education according to ISCED; native Luxembourgish students and those with a migration background; gender differences in fields of study), making it necessary to include their characteristics in the sample to provide robust and generalisable results.
The team is now focusing on analysing the results to provide a national report. This will also actively allow researchers to conduct cross-country comparisons within the EU.
The collected data will also be available upon request for further research, allowing other scientists to benefit from this valuable work.