Under draft law 7531 discussed in parliament on Tuesday, the university plans to roll out the five-year study programmes for students who have completed six years of medicine studies. The courses include the opportunity to spend semesters abroad in university hospitals, to broaden their experience to diseases that are less commonly found in Luxembourg.

The two specialisations were chosen because the Luxembourg Institute of Health and the University of Luxembourg have conducted specialised in research in the fields.

The content and duration of the courses have yet to be validated. Depending on the validation process, they could begin for the start of the 2021-2022 academic year.

Since 2004, students have been able to pursue general medicine studies in Luxembourg.

The university also taught the first year of medicine degrees, with the second and third years taught at partner universities in neighbouring countries. Starting in September 2020, students will be able to study the full bachelor’s degree in medicine at the University of Luxembourg.

The pandemic showed how heavily the grand duchy relies on healthcare professionals living in neighbouring countries. Creating more home-grown talent is expected to ease this dependency.

Other measures to incentivise talent to stay in Luxembourg include the increase of allowances for doctors undergoing specific training in general medication or specialised areas.

At a later stage, the government will assess the feasibility of introducing a master’s degree in medicine. Currently, Luxembourg has an agreement with France guaranteeing access to 24 Luxembourg students to master’s degree courses at the universities of Paris, Strasbourg and Nancy. A similar agreement is currently being negotiated with Belgium.