The Spring semester is nearing its end, and with it the academic year. There is a lot of activity in our university corridors, the last lectures and seminars are taking place and the exams are looming. It seems that in every corner, students are cramming for exams, finishing off their final papers, and very soon we will find ourselves in the non-lecture period, a time during which, the university seems to enter a supposed deep sleep. But only supposedly, because a university is not only a place of teaching, exams and final papers. A university is also a place where science is propelled forward, and is done so tirelessly by researchers who are obsessed with their thirst for knowledge.

Research projects large and small are developed and implemented. Thanks to the high quality of research produced at the University of Lucerne and supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, private and European research funds, and various foundations we can make our own contribution to science and research. Last year we were able to secure a record number of funds, allowing us to pursue highly interesting and important research questions, often in close collaboration with researchers working at foreign universities. And this year too, there will be students who want to continue their studies and take up a master’s programme or even embark on a doctoral degree. Those that do catch the bug and become fascinated by the production of knowledge, will find opportunities at our university to research and publish. We strive every day to further improve the conditions for research, to internationalise ourselves, and to promote talented, young researchers, in the hope that we will soon be able to count the one or the other as one of our colleagues!

Prof. Dr. Alexander Trechsel, Vice rector Research