2025 Highlights
The Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT)
A message from the Director
Connecting globally, innovating locally
Innovation thrives in an international context, but sovereign technology matters more than ever. This balance defines SnT. Our research fuels innovation while building the expertise and capabilities needed for long-term autonomy in key technologies. In 2025, we strengthened this approach by pairing an international outlook with local impact, contributing to Luxembourg’s national strategies on AI, data, and quantum.
The impact was clear. We launched 63 new projects worth €42.6 million, including 14 EU initiatives, and secured €2 million from the Directorate of Defence for the Cyber Hub. We also began our first partnership with a European institution, the European Stability Mechanism.
We strengthened our global footprint by welcoming Google’s new Centre of Excellence in AI and cybersecurity, signing an MoU with Berkeley University, and representing Luxembourg at the World Expo in Japan.
Our team spans over 60 countries, bringing diverse perspectives that drive innovation. This international talent also serves local needs—nearly 40% of our doctoral graduates stay in Luxembourg, helping meet growing demand for deep-tech expertise.
As Luxembourg seeks to harness AI, prepare for quantum, and attract deep tech talent, we will be there, powering innovation.
Yves Le Traon, Director of SnT
A year of trustworthy
Artificial
Intelligence
We pushed forward trustworthy AI, applying research excellence to challenges in cybersecurity, finance, space, and autonomy.
AI excels at language, but numbers remain a challenge. Maxime Cordy discusses how better handling of tabular data could transform finance.
Using AI and a dual-camera system, SnT researchers are improving how satellites autonomously rendezvous in space, enhancing safety and debris removal.
A measured leap in
Quantum
Quantum moved from theory to practice with outreach sessions and a landmark cross-border QKD link with Belgium.
Quantum computers could soon challenge today’s cybersecurity. During a dedicated session, we brought together experts to discuss how trust and digital security can be preserved in the quantum era.
The next tech revolution might begin where science began: back to basics. Speakers from across government, research, and industry explored how quantum communication could help protect Luxembourg’s digital sovereignty.
A measured leap in
Quantum
Quantum moved from theory to practice with outreach sessions and a landmark cross-border QKD link with Belgium.
Research highlights of 2025
Fintech
Cybersecurity
Space Systems
Autonomous Systems
Building impact together
Our research turns scientific breakthroughs into real-world solutions by working closely with industry on complex, real-life challenges.
This fuels a dynamic innovation ecosystem that empowers talent, supports entrepreneurship, and drives lasting societal impact.
In our first partnership with a European institution, we joined forces with the European Stability Mechanism to apply AI to bond issuance and market intelligence, supporting euro area stability.
Together with Google, we will host a Centre of Excellence and a Chair in Sovereign AI, boosting research in cybersecurity, trustworthy AI, and digital sovereignty in Luxembourg.
This year, 20 new partnerships took off with...
Innovation
takes shape
We expanded our Venture Programme with support from FNR and Entrepreneurs in Residence, opening stronger pathways from research ideas to companies.
What does it take to go from researcher to company leader? One SnT spin-off founder shares how stepping away from coding became key to building a successful data-driven business.
AI excels at language, but numbers remain a challenge. Maxime Cordy discusses how better handling of tabular data could transform finance.
Innovation
takes shape
We expanded our Venture Programme with support from FNR and Entrepreneurs in Residence, opening stronger pathways from research ideas to companies.
Events that drive the conversation
Our 70+ events created spaces to learn, debate, and connect throughout the year. Bringing together diverse audiences, we turned research topics into shared conversations and new collaborations.
Partnership Day 2025: Powering AI Innovation
On 7 May 2025, we welcomed partners from industry and public institutions to share and discuss our latest research breakthroughs. The focus was on Artificial Intelligence.
The FutureFinTech Federated Conference
Held on 13-14 March 2025 at the Novotel Kirchberg, this event brought together experts and innovators from across the spectrum of financial technology.
Our community of excellence
In 2025, we highlighted the people behind our research, sharing stories that celebrate diverse perspectives and lived experiences. We also actively supported initiatives and partnerships that advance gender balance in science and technology.
Scientific
awards that
speak for themselves
Our researchers won over 30 prestigious awards this past year
- Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences | Bjorn Ottersten
- Best Paper Award, WONS2025, Cloud-Assisted 360-Degree 3D Perception for Autonomous Vehicles Using V2X Communication and Hybrid Computing | Faisal Hawlader, Gamal Elghazaly and François Robinet
- Exponential Science Pioneers Award 2025 in Law, Exponential Science, Decentralised Finance’s timocratic governance: The distribution and exercise of tokenised voting rights | Tom Barbereau, Reilly Smethurst, Orestis Papageorgiou, Gilbert Fridgen, Johannes Sedlmeir
- 10 Year Most Influential Paper, ICSE, IccTA: Detecting Inter-Component Privacy Leaks in Android Apps |Li Li; Alexandre Bartel; Tegawendé F. Bissyandé; Jacques Klein; Yves Le Traon; Steven Arzt
- Winning Project, the International Space Station (ISS) UNIVERSEH CHALLENGE, project focused on developing a radiation-tolerant Linux operating system with software hardening measures to protect against radiation-induced failures | Saad Memon
- Best Paper Award, CLOSER 2025, Performance and Usability Implications of Multiplatform and WebAssembly Containers |Sangeeta Kakati, Mats Brorsson
- Second prize, NASA space robot programming competition, Autonomous navigation system for unknown environments |Andrej Orsula
- Outstanding Reviewer 2024 for Electronic Markets, Electronic Markets| Antragama Ewa Abbas
- 2nd Prize for Best Poster, 2025 IEEE International Conference of Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2025), BIM-Constrained Optimization for Accurate Localization and Deviation Correction in Construction Monitoring | Jose Luis Sanchez Lopez, Asier Bikandi, Muhammad Shaheer, Hriday Bavle, Jayan Jevanesan, Holger Voos , , 4th Workshop on Future of Construction
- Outstanding PhD Thesis Award, FNR Awards 2025, Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning | Florian Felten
- Winner, Luxembourg Science Slam | Niki Sajjad
- Runner-up for Informatics Europe Best Dissertation Award 2025, Informatics Europe, Enhancing Fault Diagnosis in Safety-Critical Cyber-Physical Systems| Drishti Yadav
- 2025 Excellent Thesis Award, University of Luxembourg, Communication technologies for uav-assisted 5g and beyond wireless networks | Asad Mahmood
- Best Paper Award, DPSCE Research Day | Serge Lionel Beninwendé Nikiema
- Best Paper Award, DPSCE Research Day | Pedro Jesús Jiménez
- One of the 40 Women TechEU awardees, Women TechEU, for start-up business Trace Crystal | Monica Arenas
- Distinguished reviewer award, 40th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering, ASE 2025 | Jacques Klein
- Distinguished reviewer award, 40th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering, ASE 2025 | Fabrizio Pastore
- Outstanding reviewer award, BMVC 2025 | Jose Angel Sosa Martinez
- Outstanding reviewer award, EUVIP 2025 |Abd El Rahman Shabayek
- Best Student Paper Finalist, IEEE RadarConf’25, RIS-enabled self-interference cancellation in monostatic OFDM-ISAC | Zichao, Xiao, Linlong Wu, Bhavani Shankar M. R., Björn Ottersten
- Google GCP credit worth of 25k euros for research, Google, 6 research projects on LLMs and other AI models | Jordan Samhi
- Outstanding PhD thesis award, University of Luxembourg, Autonomous Guidance, Navigation and Control of Formations of Under-actuated Microsatellites | Ahmed Mafouz
- Outstanding PhD Thesis Award, University of Luxembourg, Automating the Analysis and Generation of Code Changes with Foundation Models | Xunzhu Tang
- Outstanding PhD Thesis Award, University of Luxembourg, Design intent aware cad reverse engineering: deep neural approaches for recovering feature-based sequences from3d scans | Elona Dupont
- Outstanding PhD Thesis Award, University of Luxembourg, Dynamic Spectrum Management for Emerging Integrated Satcom and 5G Networks | Kha Hung Nguyen
- Best Poster Award, VNC 2025, Poster: a V2X-Enhanced 360-Degree 4D Perception for Occlusion-Free Autonomous Driving | Faisal Hawlader, Gamal Elghazaly and Raphael Frank
- Best Poster Award, Research Day @University of Luxembourg, Poster: a V2X-Enhanced 360-Degree 4D Perception for Occlusion-Free Autonomous Driving | Faisal Hawlader, Gamal Elghazaly and Raphael Frank
- 2024 Best Paper Runner-up, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 695-720, April 2024, Automated Smell Detection and Recommendation in Natural Language Requirements | Alvaro Veizaga, Seung Yeob Shin, Lionel C. Briand
- Special mention for the 2025 Wiley-IEEE Press Professional Book Award, IEEE Press Editorial Board, Book: Signal Processing for Joint Radar Communications | Kumar Vijay Mishra, M. R. Bhavani Shankar, Bjorn Ottersten, A. Lee Swindlehurst
- Outstanding reviewer award, EUVIP 2025 The 13th European Workshop on Visual Information Processing | Abd El Rahman Shabayek
- 2025 Best PhD Dissertation Award on Distributed Systems and Networks, from the GDR RSD (CNRS) in collaboration with ACM SIGOPS France (ASF), Improving Intrusion Detection in Distributed Systems with Federated Learning | Leo Laveur
- Best Paper Award, the EAI International Conference on Intelligent Transport Systems (INTSYS 2025), Multimodal Learning for Operational Risk Detection in Delivery Route Planning | Prateek Gupta, Daniel Antunes Pedrozo, Jorge Meira, Antonio Iannillo, Danilo D’Aversa
In the media
Throughout the year, our researchers brought their work into the public conversation. Across print, broadcast, and digital media, they shared insights on emerging technologies, explained complex challenges, and highlighted how research can make a real-world difference in over 200 features.
- Our collaboration with Google was picked up by local and global media through AP: Google Opens Office and Launches Centre of Excellence in Luxembourg to Drive AI-Powered Innovation
The SpaSYS research group achieves a historic first for the University, covered by all major local outlets: University of Luxembourg to launch first satellite into orbit
Launch of the AI Factory was picked up by PaperJam: Luxembourg’s AI Factory, a “one-stop-shop,” boots up
Our partnership model was featured by Forbes.lu: The Future Of AI Won’t Be Built Alone: Lessons From SnT’s Partnership Model
High-tech education
in action
In 2025, we prepared the next generation of experts in cybersecurity, space, and digital technologies to make an impact. Through hands-on Master’s programmes and close industry collaboration, students moved from theory to practice—and towards entrepreneurship.
We brought together around 40 Master students for a two-day cybersecurity hackathon
Teams created engaging cybersecurity awareness games for teenagers
Winning concepts move into Luxembourgish high schools in 2026
Delivered with national cybersecurity partners BEE Secure, NC3, and LTS
Working with Google to develop talent in
Cybersecurity
From campus to community
We believe great research should be shared, not siloed. This year, SnT met people where they are—from school fairs and classrooms to public lectures and on-campus internships—sparking curiosity and inspiring young minds to explore high-tech careers.
- Chercheurs à l’école
- Science Festival
- Engineering Trainee Days
- Unicareers
- University Public Lectures
- Asteroid Day
- Quantum Breakfast
- and more!
