Latest blog articles
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Opening speech Opening Academic Year 2019-2020
The purpose of the opening of the academic year is to project optimism and discussing the way ahead. This is more difficult this year as we have experienced or expecting some dramatic changes to the higher education landscape in the Netherlands. First...
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This summer we have witnessed the birth of the “European university”. In June, the European Commission announced the 17 successful bids for this status from consortia of institutions across the continent. Given that UK universities are among the best in the world, you would have expected them to be...
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Published on MLR blogs. What do documents about negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), oversight of the EU’s Food Safety Authority or Tax-Justice have in common? In order to access these documents, (selected) Members of the European Parliament are requested to...
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According to Martin Paul the Brexit is a step back for Europe, but not the end of the world. The biggest threat is falling back to a form of “European Kleinstaaterei”. It is up to universities to build bridges and keep the European academic space alive.
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The Dutch binary system with a distinction between research-oriented education at research universities and professional higher education at universities of applied sciences is a good thing, says Martin Paul.
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The end is near – at least the end of the Dutch language – if we are to believe some of the discussions taking place in the Netherlands.
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Berlin is a fun place. Several of my friends and colleagues have visited it during the last weeks and months. And they were not alone. In 2015, a record number of more than 12 million tourists visited Berlin, most of them staying for a few days. Why has the city become so attractive? First of all...
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Maastricht, Netherlands is hosting 600 refugees, in a camp that used to be Netherlands first prison built on the basis of the Prisoners Act, focusing on rehabilitation. A grey building, located behind a tall brick wall with steel window frames. Inside the building the atmosphere is tense, the air...
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In a time where religious motives seem to form a base for terror, I was deeply touched by the virgil of peace organised by Maastricht University’s student chaplaincy. Several days after the attacks in Paris, Christians, Jews and Muslims gathered here to pray for peace. It formed a stark contrast...