Google announced the opening of a Centre of Excellence and the creation of a new Chair in Cloud Systems Engineering at the University of Luxembourg’s SnT.
The announcement came during a press conference on Thursday 27 February. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg will host both the new chair and the Centre of Excellence (CoE).
The new Centre will strengthen two key areas: cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI). The goal is to provide students, small & medium businesses, and the broader ecosystem with the right digital skills to succeed in the AI era.
To deepen research into cloud systems, Google is supporting the creation of a special academic position – the Chair in Cloud Systems Engineering. This move will help attract top researchers to Luxembourg and boost its standing in AI and cybersecurity research.
Thanks to this Centre, SnT intends to boost its research activities in digital sovereignty and raise awareness of technology with a major impact on society. “This partnership is not restricted to today’s technologies but anticipates tomorrow’s developments and their impacts,” said Prof. Yves Le Traon, director of SnT at the University of Luxembourg.
Prof. Jens Kreisel, Rector of the University of Luxembourg said: “This new Chair in Cloud Systems Engineering, supported by Google Cloud, presents significant opportunities for the University of Luxembourg.”
The government strongly welcomes this initiative. The minister for Research and Higher Education and minister for Digitalisation Stéphanie Obertin stressed that this partnership between the University of Luxembourg and Google aligns with the Luxembourg’s efforts in the domain of data, AI and quantum technologies.
“The establishment of the CoE is the beginning of a transformative partnership between Google and the University of Luxembourg”, commented Ms. Obertin.
In addition, Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, will provide funding from its $15 million Cybersecurity Seminar programme to the University of Luxembourg. This funding will be used to provide students with hands-on training to protect local organisations from cyber threats through internships, mentorship, and hackathons.
Google also announced the opening of new offices in Luxembourg. They will act as a hub for AI transformation, bringing Google Cloud experts together with customers and partners. The new Cloud go-to-market (GTM) team is focused on accelerating cloud adoption by providing skills training; building a robust local ecosystem of partners and startups; and enabling customers to unlock the full potential of cloud and AI solutions.
This builds on Google’s effort to help deliver a cutting-edge, disconnected sovereign cloud solution for Luxembourg based on Google Cloud technology through Clarence – a joint venture between Proximus Luxembourg and LuxConnect – ensuring that operations are carried out in Luxembourg and subject only to EU jurisdictions.
“Luxembourg is a vital center of innovation, and Google Cloud is proud to partner in its ongoing digital transformation”, said Anthony Cirot, VP of Google Cloud EMEA South. “Through our expanded presence and initiatives, we aim to empower Luxembourg’s businesses and citizens to harness the power of technology, foster innovation, and build a thriving digital future for the nation.”
Those announcements were made during an event attended by senior members of the Luxembourg Government, leading academics, and Google’s key partners and customers at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.
Press release from Uni.lu
