Fireplace Talks
The Fireplace Talk (FPT) event series creates an open space for conversation between academics, practitioners, and the audience. Each Fireplace Talk evening is dedicated to a prominent global issue or a trending topic. Each FPT features a mix of one or two UM academics and two practitioners. The discussions are moderated by the UM Campus Brussels directors - Prof. Mariolina Eliantonio and Associate Prof. Paul Stephenson.
The discussions held at the FPTs are enriched by bringing together academia and practice. Questions and contributions from the audience are also essential to stir the conversation - these events are interactive, and all attendants are encouraged to actively participate!
On this webpage, you can find more information about both upcoming and past FPTs, including dedicated event pages where you can register.
Nov 2021 - Feb 2022 | 30th Anniversary of Maastricht Treaty
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, UM Campus Brussels organised a series of Fireplace Talks dedicated to eight policy fields laid out by the treaty. Academics and practitioners took stock stock since the Maastricht Treaty, reviewed the current state of play of policy initiatives, and looked ahead to open challenges (and potential treaty reforms).
- Transparency and Accountability: the European Ombudsman
- Social Policy and the Protection of Workers in the Single Market
- Environmental Policy and Regulation
- Economic and Monetary Union, the Euro and the European Central Bank
- Common Foreign and Security Policy
- Subsidiarity and decision-making: promoting multi-level governance
- Justice & Home Affairs and Police Cooperation: European Arrest Warrant
- EU Citizenship and the Rights of Free Movement
15.03.22 Public Health beyond the Pandemic
Maastricht University Campus Brussels, in partnership with the Association of Public Schools in the European Region (ASPHER), organised a Fireplace Talk on the topic of Public Health beyond the pandemic. The discussion focused on the functions of public health, the challenges it faces, especially in light of the current pandemic, and the future of public health after the pandemic.
More information here.
18.02.2020 Fireplace Talk: The Heat is On
Climate change poses serious challenges for humans around the world. Global warming is perceived as one of the biggest global health risks of the twentieth century which has a range of effects on human health. Global warming has an impact on vector-borne disease, water-related disease, heat- and cold-related deaths, allergies, air pollution, mental and urban health, malnutrition. The projected increases in more extreme weather, such as more frequent and more intense heatwaves, flooding, droughts, wildfires, and storms due to climate change, also have wide-ranging direct and indirect effects on health.
02.12.2019 Fireplace Talk: Big Data
The era of Big Data has arrived, creating exciting opportunities for researchers, policy makers and entrepreneurs. Europe, through projects like the European Open Science Cloud and guided by the FAIR and FACT principles, aims to establish a solid foundation to promote responsible data science and artificial intelligence. During this fire-place talk, we will hear from two professors from Maastricht University. Michel Dumontier is Professor of Data Science at the recently established Institute of Data Science. Sally Wyatt is Professor of Digital Cultures in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. They will each give a short presentation to stimulate discussion about the opportunities and challenges posed by more and open data.