Download the Charter from the Euraxess website (PDF)
Download the Foreign researcher's guide to Luxembourg
Luxembourg at a glance
Luxembourg is extremely well situated in the centre of Europe, between Germany, France and Belgium, and easily reachable by train, road and air.
Geologically, Luxembourg is divided into two distinct regions . If you travel North, you will find yourself in the ‘Oesling’, which is a hilly and wooded part of the Ardennes region with medieval castles lining its rivers and valleys. Going South from here, the landscape is in complete contrast and you will end up in a far more densely populated area which is called the ‘gutland’. This is where you will find Luxembourg city, the European institutions, and all the major financial and banking institutions, industries and research establishments.
As far as the main research centres are concerned, these are located in the two largest cities . With its population of about 94,000, Luxembourg city is the largest, and down in the South, Esch-sur-Alzette, the second largest (+/-30,600). The major industries that have contributed to the country’s wealth over the past centuries are also based here.
The new Belval centre development , also close to Esch-sur-Alzette, will house a University campus, and faculties. Many service-sector companies have already set up their operations there.
Some interesting facts:
Luxembourg is not only renowned for its social, political and economic stability, high living standards, highly qualified and multilingual workforce, business infrastructures, as well as for its attractive legal and fiscal framework.
Over the past few years, the government has focused on supporting emerging and innovative activities, including information and communication technologies (ICT), e-commerce, media, logistics, and environment and health technologies. As a result, many international corporations are setting up their European operations in Luxembourg, following in the path of eBay, Skype, Amazon, Netflix, Innova, etc. who are already present.
Research and Development (R&D) are heavily funded and supported by the government, with private R&D at about 1.5% of gdp and an R&D intensity of between 2.3% and 2.6% of the gdp before 2020. Apart from production units, companies such Dupont de Nemours, Novelis/ Hindalco, ceratizit, IEE, ArcelorMittal, SES and Paul Wurth all have R&D activities based in Luxembourg too.
National language : Luxembourgish (lëtzebuergesch)
Administrative languages : French, German and Luxembourgish
French is used in legislation, while Luxembourgish, German and French are used in administrations and for legal matters (laws, courts, tribunals, etc.).
However, with so many foreigners living in Luxembourg, it is not surprising that most locals also speak English fluently.
You will not have much trouble communicating in the language of Shakespeare.
Like most of Western Europe, Luxembourg has a moderate climate. The seasons are characterised by cool summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters.
A nice time of the year to visit is spring (May to June) and autumn (September to October); when Luxembourg often experiences an “Indian Summer”.
For the festive period at the end of the year, the weather can also become dry, cold or snowy.