Clean lines dominate at new Zug-Rotkreuz campus of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

The new Zug-Rotkreuz campus of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HL) will open to students in a few weeks’ time. Earlier this week representatives of the media were invited to look round the swish new premises on the Suurstoffi site in Rotkreuz, prior to its official opening on Saturday 14 September.

The new premises, made up of two buildings, will house the School of IT and part of the Department of Economics, namely the Zug Institute for Financial Services (IFZ), of the HL; both of the buildings are conveniently located near Rotkreuz station, students and lecturers able to make use of the new footbridge over the lines to get there, entering by a foyer dominated by light wood grey concrete and bright light. While to some it may give the effect of being rather impersonal, to others there is nothing better than the simplicity of minimalism.

Addressing the journalists before conducting them on a tour, Markus Hodel, the rector of the HL, spoke of the milestone the completion of these two buildings meant, their being the HL’s biggest construction project so far, and all completed within a record time of two years. Completion will also mean a reduction in the institution’s sites from 24 to 13, it renting out 16,000 square metres for a period of 27 years. While the lecture theatres, one capable of seating 300, and multi-purpose hall are in the lower building, the library, administration and canteen are housed in the adjacent high-rise building, where other companies have their offices, too.

Very happy with the new premises was Christine Böckelmann, the head of the Department of Economics, not least on account of the multi-purpose room, the great space in the foyer which is right next to the canteen, all perfect for holding congresses, too, one of which is “CFO Day”.

She mentioned how opportunities for further training, not least in the area of digital banking, were very much in demand at the IFZ, which used to be housed in premises in Grafenau in the city of Zug.  Out of interest, the IFZ is the largest institution in Switzerland specialising in this field, set up jointly by the Zug Chamber of Commerce and the Cantonal Department of Economic Development in 1997.

So far the School of IT, which was set up only as recently as 2013, has actually been housed in other parts of the Suurstoffi complex, its head, René Husler, was delighted to show representatives of the press a special computer laboratory able to simulate various networks both large and small. “It is here we can show what it is like, for example, to set up an IT system for companies which operate in different countries,” he said, the lab also capable of simulating network attacks, the students having to set up an appropriate firewall.  Other facilities will include a virtual reality laboratory and a workshop with 3D printers. The IT department also organises courses in further training, those in network security and blockchain being particularly popular.

The mayor of Risch was also present on the occasion, commenting on the size of the campus, the largest development of its kind in the municipality.

Some 1350 students and 210 employees will be able to benefit from the new premises shortly, student numbers expected to rise to 1550 by 2023.