Latest blog articles

Do you remember where you were on 9 November 1989? Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall—a crucial moment in the German and European history of the twentieth century. 

Soon I will host a champagne toast in honour of our employees who have given 25 or 40 years of service. These are the happy days in the life of an administrator, you see. It has only been since last year that we’ve been able to honour people who have served 40 years. That’s extra special when you...

In een nostalgische bui denk ik nog wel eens terug aan mijn eerste baantje. Vol jeugdig enthousiasme achter mijn stalen Gispen bureautje. Gewapend met telefoon, fax én een roestige typemachine waar ik mijn vingernagels op brak. Daarnaast rende ik (vaak letterlijk) het hele gebouw door om met collega...

At the start of this academic year, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, I was asked to participate in a debate here in Maastricht on “borders”: the frontiers that surround us here in the southernmost part of the country to the east, west and south. 

The Facebook page “Stuff Dutch People Like” recently published a list of what Dutch people do not like. First place: Being confused for a German. Second place: Germans. Whoa! 

Recently, I received an offer to write a regular, five weekly column in Dagblad De Limburger. The newspaper was looking for a new group of columnists and thought I might be a suitable candidate. I don’t think this blog was the reason; a journalist who then came to interview me for an article in the...

Scientific research involving animal testing at Maastricht University caused a lot of commotion last week. A group of animal rights activists mobilized, according to their own sources, more than 100.000 people to sign a petition to halt experiments involving dogs in particular. Emotions got so...

It’s that time again when national chauvinism takes over – the football World Cup is here! Pubs and entire streets are made up in orange and I am glad that I “naturalized” my German car with yellow license plates years ago (it would otherwise be too dangerous in my street…). The fan composition...

Extra money: simply divvy it up or find a special use for it? The Executive Board and the deans did not have to think long when the question arose recently. Setting it off was a message from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science “that in the supplementary budget 2014 a substantial...

Maastricht is experiencing a new dynamic: student en stad, a project that addresses the usual issues inherent to a university city, such as the specific needs of the young, diverse student population and the negative side-effects, commonly summarized by the Dutch term “studentenoverlast”. The...