We meet Ms Frédérique Urbany, Founder and Director of MSLux, an institution specialised in finance, human resources and marketing
MSLux Institute is a private higher educational institution located in the heart of Luxembourg. It is built on three key concepts: commitment, integrity and humility. Can you tell us more?
Commitment: we are committed to the success of our students. That means providing excellent lessons with professional, reputable instructors; having Ms Courmarcel, our director of education, supervise our students during their internships; and assisting with research.
MSlux Institute is also MSLux – a recruitment firm. Thanks to our partnerships in the sector, at the end of each academic year we organise a recruitment fair. We are committed to ensuring that a degree = a job. That is our goal.
We also wished to cultivate in our students a sense of loyalty and attachment to our institution. We are currently setting up a student association; the aim is to help us keep in touch with our students and to encourage our alumni to exchange with our current students.
Our students’ goal is to successfully complete their degrees; we help them to make this ambition a reality.
Integrity is about instilling honesty, reliability, morality, ethics and honour in our students. Integrity is greatly appreciated in the workplace since it helps generate a trust-based atmosphere that encourages collaboration and dynamic teams.
A person of integrity has sound judgement and is honest, reliable and loyal. We are strictly against cheating and insist our students produce original work. We also have very high behavioural expectations. We teach our students to respect and comply with company policy, to have an exemplary attitude, to surpass themselves and to help others.
We teach our students best practice, which includes a dress code for the workplace.
We wish our students to set a fine example in the workplace; to respect the opinions of others even when they disagree; and to accept responsibility for their mistakes.
We expect clear communication and a sense of duty.
Humility: we teach our students to develop a sense of humility towards their work and to ask their teachers, classmates and internship colleagues for help when needed; this helps them to complete their projects successfully, more easily, and in collaboration with others.
Management, HR, marketing, finance… What kind of students take your courses ?
Students need to have a high school diploma + 2 years of higher education. Some of our students have studied at university (bachelor’s in law, foreign languages or psychology), while others have a technical diploma (French BTS or DUT) in digital customer relations, management, banking, insurance, or technology and commerce.
We also have people wishing to change career path, translate their experience into a qualification or advance in their careers.
MSLux’s team of professionals are from the business sector. Why did you decide to start working in education?
Yes, our institution grew out of the experience of its founders and teachers, who have all worked in the business sector in Luxembourg over some 20 years.
So why are our staff committed to teaching? Because they have observed workplace needs and expectations first hand. We wanted to use our professional experience, combined with a team of qualified instructors, all well known in their fields, in order to create an first-rate institution.
The teaching team combines their expertise in key business sectors with applied knowledge of company functions.
In addition to sharing their expertise, our teachers pass on their professional experience and provide our students with new ways of approaching the theoretical knowledge they acquire.
You are located close to France, Belgium and Germany: has the coronavirus pandemic had an impact on your students and your teaching?
The beginning of our first academic year took place more than six months after the first wave of COVID-19 and the first lockdown. Having already experienced a lockdown, we had some perspective and were able to plan for the upcoming year.
Upon arrival at our institution, our students began studying via videoconferencing in order to avoid catching the virus. It is true that, while most of our students are used to remote learning, their study methods have changed.
We want all our students to follow the same programme and have access to the same resources. So we provide personalised supervision.
Course exercises are corrected on an individual basis so that each student can ensure he or she is on a positive learning curve.
We are in touch with our students regularly. However, it is true that our students want to get back to in-person study as soon as possible so as to be able to socialise with their peers.
You are a new FEDE member. Do you have any specific plans or expectations?
Although we are new to the FEDE and new to the Luxembourg market, we have lots of ambitious plans for institution. But it’s too early to provide details.
We of course hope to be an active member of the FEDE and to take part in its events.
