UM web magazine

Rainer Goebel: A career on solid ground

Portrait of Rainer Goebel, professor of Cognitive Neuroscience. An academic overachiever, the Netherlands’ first Tesla driver and hacker of the first iPhone, Goebel is also a farmer’s son and a family man.

Small change, big impact

Can you reduce the room temperature of your home and still feel comfortable? Can you keep up the habit of doing fewer loads of laundry? Yes and yes, according to the findings of the ENERGISE project, which challenged 300 households in eight countries to reduce their energy consumption.

Organ donation after euthanasia still rare

Due to an acute shortage of organ donors, hundreds of people die each year in the Netherlands and Belgium alone. One large group of potential donors may not even be aware that they can donate their organs: people who opt for euthanasia. For his PhD research, Jan Bollen studied the issue of organ donation following euthanasia.

Professor Formisano's ideal Christmas dinner

Abuses in the adoption system

Elvira Loibl defended her PhD in early 2019 for her research on illegal practices in the world of international adoption. “As a criminologist, I know that every transaction has a dark side. I wanted to bring that to light.” André Klip, professor of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and the Transnational Aspects of Criminal Law, was one of her three supervisors – although she made their work easy. “A lightning-fast PhD that ends in a cum laude: that’s rare”, Klip says.

A unique case of looted art

It started with an international phone call from the lawyers of the Norton Simon Museum in California. Not long after that, assistant professor Lars van Vliet served as an expert witness in a important court case. The stakes: a diptych by Lucas Cranach the Elder, which the heiress of the Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker claimed had been looted. After a court case lasting 12 years, she came away empty-handed – partly due to the research of Lars van Vliet.

BReIN to tackle Alzheimer’s using big data

Earlier this year Jos Kleinjans, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Maastricht University (UM), received the final word on a multi-year, multi-million-euro contribution to his brainchild, the Brightlands e-Infrastructure for Neurohealth (BReIN for short). This research institute will open up new horizons in the application of big data in healthcare. 

Is time on our side?

Until recently, palaeontology and evolutionary biology were not among the key disciplines at UM. This is set to change, say the newly appointed professors José Joordens and Leon Claessens.

From Viking to dean

A conversation with the Dane Peter Møllgaard, professor Industrial Organisation and dean of the Maastricht School of Business and Economics (SBE), on role models, family, sustainable energy and the best risotto. On Friday 1 November he will deliver his inaugural lecture.

Maastricht Law and Tech Lab: where the humanities and sciences join forces

Research on the legal issues surrounding new technologies has become a fixture at most universities. What has received less attention is how AI itself can be applied in the study and practice of law. This is where the Maastricht Law and Tech Lab comes in.

Vaccination against cervical cancer: yes or no?

Mothers who make use of the HPV Vaccination Decision Aid, a new, interactive website, are better informed and more willing to have their daughters vaccinated against HPV than mothers who do not. This is the main conclusion of research conducted by Mirjam Pot, who recently defended her PhD at Maastricht University.

Liberated from the insulin syringe

Almost 150,000 people in the Netherlands suffer from type 1 diabetes. Aart van Apeldoorn, diabetes researcher at the Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine (MERLN), hopes to do away with the insulin syringe by means of an implant known as the ‘tea bag’

Innovative education in conflict areas

Even in the world’s most war-torn countries, educational innovation is in demand. SHE Collaborates, part of the UM School for Health Professions Education, has launched several projects in Yemen and South Sudan.

A healthy business mentality and work that matters

A strong-willed globetrotter with an unwavering belief in the power of cooperation, and the ability to see opportunities where others see obstacles. That’s Patricia Vermeulen in a nutshell. The director of Amref Flying Doctors in Leiden, Vermeulen was educated at Maastricht University using Problem-Based Learning.

Kiran Patel says farewell to FASoS

Kiran Patel is leaving Maastricht University for the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, where he will hold the chair in European History and establish an interdisciplinary research centre on Europe and European history. Here, he reflects on his time in Maastricht.

“How you study is more important than what you study”

Arts and Sciences graduate Judith Maas is deputy ambassador in Mexico. She looks back on her time at Maastricht University.

Towards a landmine-free world

Massoud and Mahmud Hassani grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan – literally in a minefield. Many years later, in the Netherlands, the brothers have developed Mine Kafon: a drone system for detecting landmines. Having overcome the initial teething troubles and secured the necessary patents, they are now ready to tackle the next challenge: marketing. Students of the master’s programme in International Business are helping the brothers take their business to the next level.

Exposing fakers

Irena Boskovic wrote her dissertation under the supervision of Professor Harald Merckelbach on “malingerers”, people who deliberately fake medical symptoms to gain some form of benefit. Here, the professor and his former PhD candidate look back on a successful collaboration. Merckelbach: “Irena is very productive, accomplished and an excellent writer.” Boskovic: “What I respect about Harald is that he’ll never play the I’m-the-professor card.”

Maastricht and Boston: the best of both worlds

If you could find out whether you’ll get Alzheimer’s disease someday, would you want to know? “No”, says researcher Heidi Jacobs firmly. “Not until we can do something about it.” She does have high hopes that a treatment to delay the onset of the disease is within reach. “Many dementia researchers, myself included, have stepped out of their bubble.”

Food brings people together

Soul kitchen: a peek inside the kitchens of UM employees
Catalina Goanta, assistent professor of Privat Law, is the ultimate host: “In Romania we see that as normal. If you pay someone a visit and don’t get anything to eat, that’s a reason never to go back. It’s a sign of respect.”

“Europe keeps me up at night, not my job”

A portrait of Sophie Vanhoonacker, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: “I don’t mind talking about myself if I’m asked. But most people like to do the talking.” 

Leadership down to a fine art

The highlight of the Maastricht art scene is TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair), the annual March event that draws hundreds of high-end dealers and collectors and thousands of visitors to the city from all over the world. This year, the same week saw another – smaller – group of international visitors break new ground: the first cohort of the Executive Master in Cultural Leadership.

Studio Europa: with élan and Fingerspitzengefühl

Academic director Mathieu Segers talks about the importance of gaining a better understanding of ourselves in Europe.

“Europe belongs to all of us”

In 2018, European Studies alum Joost van den Akker became one of the regional ministers of Limburg, “the most international province of the Netherlands”. In his eyes, the university is a “European musketeer” whose pursuit of internationalisation and Europe is a winning model.

Technical feats at 180 degrees below zero

Frank Nijpels is working on the Vitrojet, a new device that prepares samples for a form of electron microscopy that received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

“I’m a coffee fundamentalist”

Soul kitchen: a peek inside the kitchens of UM employees
Bakir Bulić, director of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, still remembers being smuggled across the border from Germany to a refugee centre in Zeewolde when he was eight years old. He and his father, mother and sister Sabina were fleeing the Bosnian War. “The only thing I could think about at that moment was my mum’s veal schnitzel and mash. The thought comforted me, gave me something to hold on to.”

European disability law: DARE to dream

Although things have improved for people with disabilities in Europe in the past decades, the work is far from done. Professor Lisa Waddington coordinates Maastricht University’s involvement in a new project: Disability Advocacy Research in Europe (DARE). This new Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) provides funding for 15 early-stage researchers to conduct their PhD research.

Master in BISS: for the data architects of the future

A reappraisal of emotion in politics

In their new collection of essays, Het hart op de tong, René Gabriëls, Sjaak Koenis and Tsjalling Swierstra argue that emotions are indispensable to democracy.

“The only role I can play is myself”

Teun Dekker, the political philosopher and first professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences Education in Europe, turns every lecture into a performance. The goal: reaching his students. Thursday 31st January he will deliver his inaugural lecture.

Honorary laureate Michael Ignatieff on freedom and democracy

Canadian writer, journalist and academic Michael Ignatieff (1947) will receive an honorary doctorate from Maastricht University at its Dies Natalis on 25 January.

Honorary laureate Amitav Ghosh on climate catostrophy

Acclaimed novelist Amitav Ghosh on our collective failure to address climate change, as dicussed in his book The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. Ghosh will be presented with an honorary doctorate from Maastricht University during the 43rd Dies Natalis.

Solid as a cloud

With his new project Solid, the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, tries to give users back ownership of their data. The internet hasn’t developed in the way he intended it. Data science progresses at a dizzying pace – are the people in the driver’s seat aware of their responsibility? We asked Gerhard Weiss, Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and Frank Thuijsman, Professor Strategic Optimization and Data Science.

Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care: a unique selling point for UM

The purpose of these changes in long-term care is to improve the quality of life of vulnerable older people. At the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care in South Limburg, these improvements go hand in hand with high-quality scientific research. The Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care celebrates its 20th anniversary.

The EU as peacemaker

It may come as a surprise that a core task of the European Union is to promote peace and security in crisis areas around the world. But why does it do this, and what is it aiming to achieve?

Physics booming at UM

Maastricht University is gearing up to conduct more research in the area of fundamental physics. “The aim is to put UM on the map as a physics institute, in the eyes of other researchers as well as the general public,” says Gideon Koekoek, who joined UM’s research group on gravitational waves in 2017.

Crowdfunding in academia: exception or future reality?

If you can’t persuade official funding bodies of the merit of your research proposal, is crowdfunding a viable alternative? Here, Chahinda Ghossein-Doha and Marieke Hopman talk about their experiences with crowdfunding.

Does my turtle look disappointed?

To contribute to sustainable human–animal relationships, Bingtao Su, under the supervision of Pim Martens, researched the relationship between the ethical outlook of pet owners.

However many steps – to each problem its solution

Wary of resting on its ‘leading in learning’ laurels, UM commissioned research into the practices, problems and potential of Problem-Based Learning – all with a view to formulating a vision for the future.

Relationship between lipids and Alzheimer’s

Pilar Martinez, newly appointed professor of Neuro-inflammation and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, will deliver her inaugural lecture ‘Lipids and antibodies in neurological and psychiatric diseases’ on Friday 5 October. Four years ago, Martinez began studying the role of lipids – fats – in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. She quickly became convinced that lipids play an important role in the development of this brain disease.  

A match made in Maastricht: Alex and Lisa Brüggen

On 14 September, exactly 17 years after they first met, Lisa and Alex will celebrate becoming Professors Brüggen and Brüggen. The SBE scholars who share a last name and a life together reflect on joint inaugural lectures, coincidence and coffee, private and professional spheres, and Lufthansa’s close attention to academic titles.

Making Clinical Sense

In her project “Making Clinical Sense,” anthropologist Anna Harris is researching how medical skills are taught and learnt.

The risks of convenience

The EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will oblige companies to have a data protection officer, to inform authorities and affected individuals of security breaches, and to invest in data encryption and intrusion prevention and detection systems. This should improve the security of sensitive personal data – but it is important to remember that there’s no such thing as a perfectly secure system, according to Apostolis Zarras, cybersecurity expert.