Morning Programme - Opening Academic year 2021/2022

Katlijn Haesebrouck joined Maastricht University as an Assistant Professor of Accounting in 2016, after obtaining her Ph.D. from KU Leuven (Belgium). Her research interests are centered on motivating knowledge sharing in organizations. Since 2020, Katlijn is the chair of the Maastricht Young Academy.

Harald Merckelbach is  professor of legal psychology and dean of the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and vice-member of the criminal cases review commission that advises the Dutch Supreme Court. From 2011 to 2020, he wrote a monthly science column for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. His most recent book is Goede verhalen zijn zelden waar (Prometheus, 2020).

Laurens Bierens studies Medicine and Health Law.

Dr Astrid Boeijen is CEO of the Brightlands Smart Services Campus, a triple helix innovation campus in the field of data science and AI in Heerlen. The Campus boasts an ecosystem of over 80 companies, startups, governments and knowledge institutions; it has recently been recognized as one of the seven national data science and AI hubs. Boeijen was member of the Board of Directors of Statistics Netherlands, where she was responsible for Data Services. She holds a PhD in Combinatorial Chemistry (Utrecht University, 2000).

Snježana Prijić-Samaržija is the Rector of the University of Rijeka, and a professor of philosophy. As the University of Rijeka is becoming increasingly recognizable in the European Higher Education Area, in 2020, Rector Prijić-Samaržija was elected to the Governing Council for the drafting of the European University Association (EUA) Strategy. She is also a member of the Steering Committee for Education Policy and Practices at the Council of Europe.  

Helen Mertens MD PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the at Maastricht University Medical Center+. As a gynaecologist, she combined patient care with governance and managerial responsibility. MUMC+ provides a complete range of excellent healthcare: a wide range of basic care to highly specialised care. MUMC+ employs 7,620 staff, 443 medical doctors, has 26,305 patient admissions and 449,797 outpatient consultations a year, and a revenue of approximately € 921 million.