ESAB cohort 2026-2027

Hi! My name is Rebecca Pytsje du-Pont, and I was born and raised in South Africa, with parents from the Netherlands and Eswatini. I am 22 years old, freshly graduated from Biomedical Sciences and continuing in a master's in medicine and clinical research (A-KO) at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. I have a deep-rooted passion for helping people, and I am especially interested in the workings of the human body. I love engaging in conversations where I can learn more about people’s personal experiences through different journeys of life. This curiosity, combined with my wish to give back to the community, led me to working at EDLAB alongside my studies on the Student Guidance team. We aim to strengthen the support that the students receive and help make their learning experience as enriching as possible.  

I believe that education is one of the most powerful ways to make a positive impact, and that we all share a responsibility to contribute to its continuous improvement. What I love most about education is how it brings people together, helping us learn not only about the world around us but also about ourselves and each other. I love that ESAB gives us the opportunity to actively contribute towards making education at UM more meaningful, supportive and inspiring for everyone involved.

Hey everyone! My name is Charlotte and I am in my final year at University College Maastricht (UCM), where I focus on psychology and neuroscience. I am especially interested in how memory shapes who we are and how we think. So far I have worked on memory in both research and clinical practice and in the long run I would like to combine the two in a translational research setting.  

It is already my third year as part of ESAB. What I have come to appreciate most about education is when the knowledge we acquire links to application. UCM has taught me to look at problems from different angles. One thing that has stuck is that research and practice inform each other. Research gives practice evidence to build on, while practice shows research which questions matter. I see this link in many fields. To me it is important in clinical work, where findings become meaningful when they help someone and observations point to the questions worth studying. PBL works in a similar way; theory is tested in tutorials, projects and real-world problems and what we learn in practice feeds back into how we think in the classroom. This link is also one of the things I value about ESAB: we bring students' experiences into conversation with the people who shape our education. 

Hi! My name is Valeria Chistyakova. I am 21 years old, and I am currently a Master student in the Neuropsychology programme at FPN. I love keeping myself active and my creativity flowing so some of my hobbies include singing, exploring different music genres, writing, reading, swimming, and going on long walks. I also enjoy learning different languages (so far, I fluently speak four, but I'm working on mastering many more in the future).   

My passion for learning arose in elementary school. In fact, my experience with my teachers almost led me to pursue an educational career myself. My teachers had a way of making every lesson feel like a discovery, blending curiosity with creativity in ways that kept us all engaged. They didn’t just teach; they inspired us to explore beyond the textbooks, encouraging us to ask questions and follow our interests. One teacher, in particular, was known for bringing subjects to life with unique, hands-on activities. Whether it was using storytelling to explain historical events or organising interactive science demonstrations right in the classroom, they made learning both accessible and exciting. Seeing their dedication and enthusiasm sparked a love for learning in me, and I’ve carried that with me ever since.

Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Anna Gudimova and I’m a double bachelor’s student in Biomedical Sciences and European Public Health at FHML. I have always been curious about how people learn, not just what they study, but why certain environments make learning feel exciting and others don’t.  

What I love about education is that it’s never one-size-fits-all. It’s about creating space for creativity, mistakes, and those unexpected “aha” moments when things suddenly click. Some of my favourite tutorials were the ones where everyone felt comfortable to speak up, share experiences, and even disagree, because that’s where real learning happens.  

Being part of EDLAB’s Student Advisory Board means I get to help make those spaces even better. Therefore my mission this year is to help make education feel alive, collaborative, and inspiring, where curiosity drives learning, and students feel that their voices truly shape the experience. 

Hi! I am Hoang, 20, and now in my third year at the School of Business and Economics (SBE), studying Economics and Management of Information. This is also my second year teaching Quantitative Methods to first-year students. Teaching keeps me close to the questions students ask when they first meet a subject, and those questions show which difficulties better teaching can ease. 

Last year at ESAB showed me how much good education depends on understanding how people perceive their studies. Valuable feedback from teachers can develop critical skills that help in the labour market. Learning works in a similar way for students: knowing how to (not) study pays off at every level and can enable them to spend their time on what matters, learn with confidence, and carry these habits beyond university. This year, I want to look at the responsibilities of students in their studies. The university provides structure, guidance, and resources, but at some point, students have to take ownership of how and why they learn. I am curious where that line sits for students across faculties. My aim stays the same: find small changes in studying and teaching that help students see the bigger picture, catch the details, and connect the dots until an "ahhh" pops up and the head keeps pondering. 

Outside of studying, I enjoy listening to people's stories and thoughts. You will often find me walking, having coffee, or trying new things. 

Hi! My name is Lizzy and I am currently a Master's student at the Faculty of Law, and I am specialising in Human Rights. I also graduated from the ELS programme in Maastricht and have worked as a student tutor at the faculty since my Bachelors.   
  
It is my second year being part of ESAB, and I joined in order to play a more active role in shaping and discussing education at UM. Staying on board was a no-brainer for me, as ESAB provides an opportunity to discuss challenges that students face and opportunities for improvement in an open and honest environment, which ultimately contributes to a better educational experience for everyone. Being both a tutor and a student, I highly value the opportunity to engage in strengthening our system for all students, and the fact that we have members from many different faculties also ensures that all perspectives are heard. 

My highlight from ESAB last year was planning a student-meet where we focused on being "more than a student", as university is not only a place to learn about a specific topic, but also about yourself, therefore I found it really valuable that we take into account students wellbeing from every perspective. I'm really excited to be part of ESAB this year again and continue to ensure everyone receives the best educational experience possible possible! 

Hey! My name is Augustin Forjonel-Legrand, I am 19 years old, and a third-year student in European Studies at FASoS. I have always been interested in geopolitical issues, and learning about the EU has never been more relevant than it is today. Outside of my studies, I write for Maastricht’s student newspaper, and as soon as the sun shines, I’m outside for a walk in nature! 

Throughout my studies and activities, I have met students with diverse backgrounds, interests, and ways of thinking. This is what I wanted to find by joining EDLAB’s student board. Studying at Maastricht has shown me that there is not a single solution to the problems you work on, especially in the social sciences field, but working together is the key to moving forward. Learning in an environment where we can freely confront our opinions, and sometimes argue (a bit), is what I cherish the most at university, and I would like to make this a safe space for everyone. 

Finally, in a world where technological progress has never been so present in our lives, I truly think that we should not put it away from education but incorporate it into our learning systems. For this reason, I am happy to look at the role of AI in education and have the ESAB team working on this!

Hi! My name is Annalisa. I’m 19 years old and a third-year Maastricht Science Programme student focusing on chemistry. I come from Trieste, a multicultural Italian city near the borders of Slovenia, Austria, and Croatia. Growing up in such a diverse environment taught me to be open-minded and to constantly question established traditions. Moving to Maastricht felt like a home away from home, and I’ve loved engaging with the diverse perspectives here.

This has been especially true within Problem-Based Learning (PBL), where discussing course concepts openly with peers completely reshaped how I view learning. This approach led me to critically reflect on how education shapes us. As a woman in STEM, I am particularly passionate about understanding why gender gaps persist in technical fields and how education can evolve to dismantle these social prejudices.

Joining ESAB felt like the perfect opportunity to analyse student experiences across UM, amplify underrepresented voices, and collaborate on meaningful improvements to make our education more inclusive, reflective, and effective for everyone.   

Hey! I’m Adam Kalita, a second-year European Studies bachelor students at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. I was born in Stockholm, Sweden, but I grew up in and went through my secondary education in Malta. I have a quite broad range of academic interests beyond social sciences though, especially natural sciences (biology and physics) and technology. 

I often drink between 6-8 cups of coffee per day, which concerns some people, but I’m managing so far. I was drawn to EDLAB because I’ve always been very interested in pedagogy and educational theory, and I’m a bit concerned with how poor education results tend to be. I also love talking to people about education, and I often heard different view points on what people care about or enjoy in education. All this made me want a space where I can put this interest into practice and get some things done in the space of education. 

I’m particularly interested in assessments, which is something a lot of my peers at FASoS have thoughts on,  as well as engagement with the PBL system which I think is a real strength at UM that could become even stronger. 

Hi! I’m Sofia Kaps, a third-year Economics and Business Economics student at SBE. I chose this programme because of the wide variety of courses it offers, and I still love how much ground it covers, from economics and finance to marketing and strategy. 

When I first arrived in Maastricht, PBL took some getting used to. Instead of sitting in a lecture hall taking notes, I was suddenly expected to come prepared, share my ideas, and learn from the people around me. Three years later, I’ve come to really appreciate this way of learning. My favourite tutorials were the ones where the discussion took on a life of its own, and we left still thinking about the topic. Moments like these got me curious about how education is designed, and how even small changes can shape how much students get out of it. 

Alongside my studies, I’m an SBE mentor, which lets me see the student experience from another side. Talking with first-years about how to prepare for tutorials, deal with exam stress or settle into a new city reminds me how much support matters, especially at the start. 

I’m excited to be part of ESAB because students experience education every day and have valuable insights into what works well. I hope to bring those perspectives forward and help make studying at UM even more engaging and rewarding for everyone. 

Hi, my name is Kornel, I am 24 years old and currently in my first year of studying Work and Organisational Psychology at FPN. I am really passionate about helping people achieve their highest potential, for which they need an effective education, and innovative ways of learning. Hence why I joined ESAB. 

During my bachelor’s in psychology at FPN the whole university was forced to go online due to the pandemic, which put the way of education to a test, and created a need for reform in the assessment practices. The results were eye-opening for me as until that point I was only familiar with exams written on paper or through some learning software like Canvas or Test vision. That’s when my interest in innovating education started. Later, after I have graduated from my bachelor’s I decided to do a year of computer science throughout which I realised that even though both programmes are offered by the same university the way of teaching is fundamentally different and the two departments could exchange best practices

Hi! My name is Maria and I’m a student at Maastricht University, where I’ve just finished my bachelor’s in Regenerative Medicine and Technology and am now completing a second one in Computer Science. I speak Russian, English and French, and my favourite study memory is my exchange experience in Australia. In my free time I love cooking and travelling. 

What I enjoy most about education is the moment something clicks. I teach robotics to kids using Edison robots, and I’ve noticed how easily they copy code from the board without really knowing what each block does. It showed me that finishing a task and actually learning something are not the same thing. Good education gives students room to experiment, make mistakes and work out why something works. Having studied in different systems, from PBL in Maastricht to my exchange in Australia, I’ve seen how much the format shapes what we take away. Through ESAB, I want to help make education at UM more hands-on and engaging for everyone.