UMagazine

UMagazine offers an insight into the key developments and achievements in education and research at Maastricht University. The magazine is printed three times a year.

The October edition includes a portrait of Stefan Smeekes, who became a professor of econometrics at the age of 41. This is not to say his path is open to anyone with a disability. “Everybody’s different, and so is every disability,” he says. He doesn’t see himself as an ambassador for disabled academics. “But if my story inspires others, that’s a good thing, for sure.” A down-to-earth researcher and devoted teacher, Smeekes learnt from his parents never to give up and to think in terms of solutions. 

Pablo del Hierro studies transnational fascism in his native Madrid. So far, his work has resulted in a book, a documentary, the FASoS valorisation prize and a political campaign to remove a fascist monument.

Chelsea Phillips, born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, recently completed a joint-degree programme in Brisbane and Maastricht. “It’s a PhD project conducted in two places, made possible by the collaboration between UM and the Queensland University of Technology. A fantastic opportunity. In Australia, I spent 18 months working on the theoretical side of service robots, and here in Maastricht I was able to see the robots at work in real life.”

In no less than a world-class achievement, Rainer Goebel recently landed his second ERC grant worth €2.5 million, this time for his research project ‘Reading the mind’s eye: AI-inspired personalised brain models of mental imagery.’ “Finding the best people for the project is currently the biggest challenge. I’m looking for suitable candidates from the Netherlands and abroad. In five years’ time we will, I hope, know how thoughts become images. We’re working hard on that. I’m optimistic.”

A change of course is needed if we are to keep healthcare in the Netherlands accessible. The South Limburg Regional Plan, presented in late 2023, focuses on cooperation between dozens of parties and organisations. Researchers Daan Westra and Svenja Cremer explain how UM is contributing through its Academic Collaborative Centres.

This time, Soul Kitchen offers a peek into the kitchen of Sharon Anyango, who was born and raised in Kenya. And we meet Manon Weusten, UM’s 100,000th alum and an economic researcher on globalisation at Statistics Netherlands. In November 2024, after two years of part-time study, she will receive her cum laude MSc in International Business specialising in Accounting and Control.

Read about all this and more in the October issue of UMagazine!