The Luxembourg government has ordered an external audit into the governance of the country’s only public university, stepping beyond a previously announced review of working climate and HR procedures that will be commissioned by the University of Luxembourg itself.
In a press release published on Monday, the Ministry of Research and Higher Education said it would directly commission and oversee a comprehensive governance audit, examining how the university is run, how decisions are made and whether conflicts of interest, ethical issues or structural weaknesses exist at the highest levels of the institution.
The move comes after weeks of media reporting by the Luxembourg Times and other Luxembourg media on allegations from staff describing bullying, fear of reprisals, opaque promotion procedures and a toxic working environment at the country’s only public university.
The issue was debated at length during a parliamentary commission meeting on higher education and research last Tuesday, after which several MPs, including Françoise Kemp (who had put the matter on the agenda), said an audit commissioned by the university risked lacking independence.
Read the Luxembourg Times investigation
Over two dozen complaints about university workplace culture since 2020
Ministry takes the lead
Higher Education Minister Stéphanie Obertin said she had treated the allegations “with the greatest seriousness” and had sought to gain a full picture of the situation through a series of meetings with the university’s rector Jens Kreisel, the president of the Board of Governors, representatives of staff and the student body.
While the university had already announced an external audit into working conditions and HR-related procedures, Obertin decided that a second, separate audit was needed at ministerial level.
“This audit will be commissioned and followed up by the ministry,” the statement said, adding that the ministry will also define the specifications itself, a key point of criticism raised by opposition MPs during the committee meeting.
The governance audit will look at the composition and responsibilities of the university’s various decision-making bodies, internal procedures, decision-making processes, codes of ethics and conduct, and potential conflicts of interest. An external service provider with relevant expertise will be selected via a public procedure.
This review is intended to complement – not replace – the audit already planned by the university, according to the ministry.
Two audits, different scopes
The university-commissioned audit, which is expected to take place in March, focuses more narrowly on the working environment, HR procedures and academic recruitment and promotion practices.
Speaking to MPs last week, rector Jens Kreisel said the audit would examine the HR department “in the broader sense”, including whether procedures are sufficiently clear and whether the institution is capable of detecting “weak signals” in an organisation that has grown rapidly over the past decade.
Rector says university under ‘attack’ as lawmakers to discuss complaints
Kreisel said a public tender was being drafted and should be published shortly. He also rejected claims that he had initially favoured an internal review, saying he had been “immediately in favour of an external audit”.
However, opposition MPs from several parties criticised the fact that the university itself was drafting the specifications for the audit and that governance issues were excluded from its scope.
Pirate Party MP Sven Clement said it would have been preferable for the ministry to take responsibility for such a review, while Green MP Joëlle Welfring described it as “a pity” that the audit did not extend to governance. LSAP MP Liz Braz questioned whether the university’s management had fully understood the nature of the complaints raised by staff.
Obertin initially defended the hands-off approach, saying the ministry wanted to act “as transparently and neutrally as possible” by leaving the audit to the university’s supervisory body. She added, however, that the audit specifications had not yet been formally submitted and could still be reviewed.
‘More nuanced’ picture
Both Obertin and Kreisel have repeatedly said that, based on their information, the situation at the university is “more nuanced” than media reports suggest.
Stéphanie Obertin, Minister of Research and Higher Education
“We have to look at both sides,” Obertin told MPs last week, adding that the allegations had not been confirmed in the way they were portrayed publicly.
Kreisel also said there was “no systemic malaise at the university, only individual cases”, while acknowledging that all complaints must be taken seriously.
During the parliamentary hearing, Kreisel revealed that anonymous emails containing links to media articles about the allegations had been sent to 22 international universities, a network known as The Guild, calling it an attack on the institution’s reputation. He said, however, that partner institutions had not questioned the quality of the University of Luxembourg.
Figures shared by the university show that between 2020 and 2025, HR received 27 complaints related to inappropriate behaviour, harassment, discrimination or plagiarism. Three cases may qualify legally as harassment, the university said, and all led to “appropriate measures”.
University of Luxembourg joins network of prestigious European unis
Restoring trust
In its statement, the ministry said the dual-audit approach aims to provide a “complete and coherent” assessment of the situation by covering both day-to-day practices and higher-level governance structures.
“The two audits pursue a common objective: to contribute to a factual and independent analysis, identify possible dysfunctions and, where appropriate, formulate concrete recommendations to improve practices and strengthen trust within the institution,” the statement said.
Timelines for the audits and the publication of their terms of reference will be communicated once finalised.
Obertin also stressed her commitment to “listening, transparency and responsibility”, adding that the situation of the university, its staff and students would continue to be followed closely.
