In the 25 years since its founding, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has become an important driving force and service partner for Central Switzerland. The success factors for this are - as the results of the national education report Switzerland 2023 also make clear - practical training and further education as well as research and development services.
"We want to move - our environment and ourselves," explains Barbara Bader, Rector of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. "Essential to this is constant dialog with our stakeholders and proximity to topics and social developments that are currently occupying business, culture, politics and people."
Thus, one focus is on the topic of healthcare: At the end of September 2022, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts received a mandate from the Concordat Council to examine, together with the XUND Health Center, specific training and continuing education offerings at the UAS level in order to counteract the shortage of skilled workers in Central Switzerland in the areas of nursing and medical technology/life sciences.
Student numbers remain at a high level
Last year, around 8,300 people enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s degree program at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, virtually the same number as in 2021, with more young people from outside the sponsoring cantons studying at the HSLU than vice versa. Barbara Bader: "According to the Swiss Education Report, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts also has the second-highest percentage of graduates who go on to find employment appropriate to their education after graduation. We see this as confirmation that we teach attractive skills that are relevant to the labor market."The diversity of the students at HSLU is also positive. The majority of them come from families without a university degree. The proportion of women has also remained unchanged at 46 percent. "Equal opportunities and social mobility are central aspects of sustainable education," says Barbara Bader.
A total of 12,724 people participated in a continuing education program, around 5,000 of them in an MAS, CAS and DAS program. The number of participants in specialized courses or seminars increased from around 6,700 in the previous year to 7,700 and is at the pre-pandemic level.
Valuable knowledge and technology transfer to the region
The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is linked to companies in the region through a large number of successful research and development projects. Researchers at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts launched 348 new research projects in 2022, 280 of which are funded by external research partners. Innosuisse supports 68 new projects, the Swiss National Science Foundation three and the federal government 62. Third-party funding from EU programs flowed into twelve new projects.Research sales rose to 65 million Swiss francs. Of the six departments, Engineering & Architecture and Business recorded the highest sales in this area. In addition, the HSLU departments generated CHF 7.3 million from services.
The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts employs 2,070 staff, of whom 869 are professors and lecturers and 621 are academic and assistant staff. In the area of administration and technology, 549 people are employed. In addition, there are 31 apprentices and interns. This means that the HSLU is still one of the largest employers in Central Switzerland.
Almost a precision landing
The annual financial statement of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts 2022 closes with a profit of 0.97 million francs. A plus of 1.7 million had been budgeted. The decisive factor was, among other things, the increase in energy costs. "From the company’s point of view, almost a precision landing," is how Barbara Bader sums up the course of business. The turnover amounts to 315.6 million Swiss francs, about seven million more than in the previous year. According to the education report, the universities of applied sciences have become about 20 percent more efficient since 2007.In addition, the HSLU has by far the lowest residual funding in Switzerland. "This shows how efficiently and economically the University of Lucerne fulfills its tasks - with all the positive, but also critical effects of such a high system utilization," emphasizes the rector.
The concordat cantons contributed a good 28 percent and the federal government a good 25 percent to the financing of the largest educational institution in Central Switzerland. At the end of 2022, the equity capital amounted to 14.7 million francs, which corresponds to 4.6 percent of the turnover.
