UMagazine

After several rocky years, Maastricht University alum Lea Vink has found her feet in Vienna. Professionally, she is taking new steps at the crossroads of aviation and organisational psychology. And on a personal level, luck has smiled on her since her transition from man to woman.

In September Cengiz Akbulut was made head of the laboratory of the new Stem Cell Research University Maastricht (SCRUM). Here he discusses multiculturalism, the origin of life and his love of swing dancing.

The number of foreign students arriving at Dutch universities will not be restricted, at least for the time being. This is a good thing, according to ongoing research by Carla Haelermans from the School of Business and Economics (SBE) and Patrick Bijsmans from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences...

EU immigration and asylum law are plagued by disharmony and dysfunction. Lilian Tsourdi, assistant professor of International and European Law, is investigating how to improve the situation.

Why do humans act the way they do? To answer this complex question, Hannes Rusch has to be a bit of everything: economist, biologist, philosopher, mathematician. He recently received a €1.5 million ERC Starting Grant to develop and empirically validate an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for...

As a student of Business Administration at Maastricht University, Alberic Pater had no clear-cut career plans. The penny dropped when he was studying in Pretoria, South Africa.

It all started with an unexpected discovery. Bart van Grinsven, associate professor of Sensor Engineering, figured out how to detect microparticles—bacteria, toxins and proteins—in a liquid using a rapid testing method based on heat transfer. Through the startup Sensip-dx, Jaap Drenth is now turning...

Things are bustling around the kitchen table of Burak Can, associate professor of Data Analytics and Digitalisation. A mix of Turkish, English and Dutch can be heard. “I speak Turkish with my children, my wife Ingrid speaks Dutch with them, and we speak English with each other.” On the menu is one...

Gera Nagelhout is, in many respects, not a typical professor. She was the first in her family to attend university, and at the age of 34 was appointed endowed professor of Health and Wellbeing of People with a Lower Socioeconomic Position.

Computers are already capable of making independent decisions in familiar situations. But can they also apply knowledge to new facts? Mark Winands, the new professor of Machine Reasoning at the Department of Advanced Computing Sciences, develops computer programs that behave as rational agents.

From lab technician to FHML student to national decision maker: after spending a number of formative years at Maastricht University, Abdifatah Ahmed Mohamed has returned to his native Somalia. There he aims to make a difference as Director of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Health and Human...

Professor of Clinical Chemistry Yvonne Henskens has prepared for this interview by laying out her most important cookbooks and whipping up a fig cake with eggs from her own chickens. “I prefer to make everything myself: bread, cheese, mayonnaise. I want to know how it works—in that sense I’m still a...

Increasing numbers of young people reportedly make regular use of low doses of LSD or other illegal substances to improve their cognition. Disquiet among parents and educational institutions is growing. Nadia Hutten investigated this phenomenon during her PhD, supervised by Professor Jan Ramaekers...

The first paper ever written by Jiaru Zheng, a second-year bachelor’s student in Digital Society, was published as a journal article. The paper focused on the pop music album 3811, in which singer Tan Weiwei advocates for the status of women in China.

From polarisation, misinformation and populists at home to geopolitical pressure from abroad: European democracy is feeling the strain. In an effort to uphold and expand one of its core values, the EU is financing a research project on the promotion of democracy. Professor Giselle Bosse, an Eastern...

Companies and governments are in dire need of specialists and managers with knowledge of three separate fields: data management, cybersecurity and privacy legislation. It’s a rare combination, prompting the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity (ECPC) at Maastricht University to establish a...

The covid pandemic brought pressure to bear on many things. Neurology professor Karin Faber and assistant professor of Healthcare Management Daan Westra look back on a turbulent time.

They can do it already: deliver pizzas and medicines, inspect windows for cleanliness, monitor crowds. And all that autonomously, without a human driver. But how do you ensure that drones comply with laws and regulations? Professor of Private Law and technology expert Gijs van Dijck translates legal...

The new dean of SBE, Marielle Heijltjes, is a product of Maastricht University. In 1985 she was among only the second cohort of business-economics students. “When I take office as SBE dean, I’ll be the first alum and the first woman in that role. I’ve always thought fondly of the school."

Teaching toddlers and pre-schoolers a healthy diet is not easy. But children are not preordained to dislike vegetables, say PhD candidates Anouk van den Brand and Britt van Belkom. The key to success: persist and reward.

 

In 1999, Hanneke van der Tas was one of the first students to graduate from UM’s brand new European Law School. She went on to earn a postgraduate degree from Harvard Law School. She passed both the New York Bar and the Paris Bar, seemingly destined for a career as a lawyer or judge. Then her life...

Melline Somers is the only child of a Thai mother and a Dutch father. During her studies, she developed a love of Italian cuisine too. Now a postdoctoral researcher at ROA, she discusses life between two—or even three—cultures.

How does art reflect our community? How does our community express itself through art? Barbara Strating is the new curator of the Arts and Heritage Commission at Maastricht University. She succeeds Mieke Derickx, who is retiring after more than two decades in the role. Here they discuss curiosity...

This academic year, Maastricht University launched the bachelor’s in Circular Engineering. New programme director Gavin Phillips and first-year students Maria el Kadi and Lea Dratwa discuss the how and why of this degree, which will help students to address existing as well as future sustainability...

Jessica Steinlechner and her research group at Maastricht University are making their contribution to discovering into the origin and future of the universe in the form of mirror coatings that will improve our ability to make such measurements.

Are we really making progress towards the sustainable transition? One thing is clear: if we’re not, it’s not the fault of sustainability science.

One misconception that Milene Bonte and Giada Guerra want to dispel at the very start of this interview is the idea that people with dyslexia are less intelligent than others. The learning disorder is nonetheless a serious problem, affecting an estimated 5 to 10 percent of primary school children.

The Facebook Papers, a series of documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen, brim with revelations. The company appears to have been fully aware of its role in the dissemination of false information and anger-inducing content. Moral philosopher Katleen Gabriels and data protection lawyer Paolo...

If we were to replace plastic with paper or glass, would the environment benefit? Surprisingly, no, says professor of Circular Plastics Kim Ragaert. She is calling for an alternative approach aimed at increasing awareness of and knowledge about recycling.

Frans Verhey, professor of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry is proud of what the Limburg Alzheimer’s Centre has achieved and of its team, which works tirelessly to improve the quality of life of people with Alzheimer’s. “Alzheimer’s tends to be seen as a horrible, deadly brain disease that...

From a small room in a quarantine hotel in New Zealand, UM alum Moniek Mestrom discusses the importance of emergency medicine and her experiences as a ship physician. Never has she felt so free as during expeditions to the Antarctic and Greenland.

Late last year Matteo Bonetti, born and raised in Italy, successfully defended his PhD dissertation on factors that influence investment strategy.

Hildegard Schneider is set to say goodbye. As professor of European Migration Law and former dean of the Faculty of Law, her career coincided with the foundation and pioneering years of the law faculty. She herself made an important contribution to the profiling of Maastricht University as a...

PhD candidate Akudo McGee is studying the contestation of EU norms, particularly in Poland. An American citizen of Nigerian descent, she views the European project from an outsider’s perspective—with fascination and, increasingly, concern.

As a fresh-faced student, Jeroen Lenaers had no idea where a degree in European Studies would take him. The UM alum who simply ‘fell’ into a career in international politics was last year elected by VoteWatch Europe as the most politically influential Dutch MEP.

The world order is shifting. Putin continues to taunt Europe. China’s global expansionism seems limitless. And how to respond to the United States’ renewed desire for cooperation? The European Union’s answer should be greater strategic autonomy, says Sophie Vanhoonacker, professor of Administrative...

Ann Meulders, associate professor of Experimental Health Psychology, is working on a Vidi project focusing on pain avoidance, a proven predictor of chronic pain. As her PhD candidate Eveliina Glogan demonstrates in her dissertation, an important mechanism behind the generalisation of pain avoidance...

As a physician and clinical researcher, Frederic Schaper has one burning ambition: to create a ‘map’ of the network connections in the brain. The UM alum and his colleagues from Harvard Medical School expect to publish their first, promising results this autumn.

Together with her master’s students, Milena Pavlova is investigating the access to healthcare of undocumented migrants. Her findings give cause for concern: in many countries, this group has no or little access to healthcare.

Professor Yvonne van der Meer is investigating how companies can improve the sustainability of their products. She analyses every material, exposing the lifecycle in its entirety.

Sexual harassment in public is becoming a punishable offence. It’s a good idea, says Suzan van der Aa, professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, but one that doesn’t go far enough. “Sexual harassment in the workplace is common too, and usually has a greater impact on the victims.”
 

Graciëlla van Vliet studied Econometrics in Maastricht, followed by a master’s degree in Rotterdam—a near guarantee for a top job at a top organisation. Instead she opted for independent entrepreneurship.

The 37-year-old Hilde Verbeek was appointed on 9 July as professor of Long-Term Care Environments at the Living Lab for Ageing and Long-Term Care Limburg. She may be relatively young, but her research, academic record and vision of care for older people all bear witness to her maturity, erudition...

When it comes to food, Didier Fouarge has a wealth of happy memories. An only child raised in Namur, Belgium, he was used to eating fresh, delicious food from an early age. For this economics professor, cooking is more than a mere hobby.

Emilie Sitzia has been awarded a prestigious Comenius Leadership Fellowship for a three-year project focused on teaching sensory skills beyond the visual – from hearing to feeling and smelling. Lick this article to increase your likelihood of remembering it.

With no fewer than three forensics chairs, Maastricht University is unique in the Netherlands. Bela Kubat, professor of Forensic Pathology, Paul Hofman, professor of Forensic and Post-mortem Radiology, and Wilma Duijst, professor of Forensic Medicine and Health-Related Criminal Law, discuss the...

Cybersecurity and Russian politics are global concerns—but digital technology is playing an intriguing role in Russia’s own upcoming elections too. Russia expert Mariëlle Wijermars explains.

The pandemic has called into question the idea of a Europe without frontiers. Sarah Schoenmaekers and Martin Unfried—specialists in EU law and Euregional cooperation, respectively—search for answers.

What she eats matters less to her than who her tablemates are. Ronit Shiri-Sverdlov, professor of Inflammation and Metabolic Health, is happiest when eating at home with her family. The chef is whoever feels like cooking, the food is whatever they happen to have on hand.

Marieke van den Beuken–van Everdingen was 49 when she obtained her PhD and 56 when she became professor of Palliative Medicine. “It took a while for me to find my feet. And in my day, internal medicine was still mainly a man’s world, which didn’t help either.” Here she talks about quality of life...

Constance Sommerey and her three colleagues play a key role in promoting, monitoring and drawing attention to issues of inclusion and diversity at UM. "Diversity and inclusivity touch the very core of society and thus also the heart of the academic world." Hillmann Batuo, a fourth-year medical...

Depression can behave in the same way as the economy, according to doctor and researcher Suzanne van Bronswijk. An approach based on econometric modelling can therefore help in deciding between treatment options.

At EGGXPERT, a local startup, two waste products from eggs are put to use in the production of facial masks and wound plasters. Co-founder Chang Liu was one of the first graduates of the master’s in Biobased Materials at the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Gerard van Rooij, professor of Plasma Chemistry, was the first PhD candidate of Ron Heeren, university professor and director of the M4I institute. Together they reflect on a pioneering period in which they took the first tentative steps in the development of imaging mass spectrometry.

Robert Horselenberg has been in charge of the Maastricht cold-case team since its creation about 10 years ago. Ten students, mostly from the master’s degree in Forensics, Criminology and Law, are given six months to study an existing cold case and come up with recommendations for the Public...

In 2014 Trudie Schils, professor of Economics of Education, was one of the driving forces behind the start of the Educational Agenda Limburg. The agenda is a long-term project seeking to improve education in the province and the connection to the labour market. The first concrete results have since...

After earning her master’s degree at the UM School of Health Professions Education (SHE), Zakia Dimassi is now back in Beirut, Lebanon, where she is an assistant professor at Saint George Hospital University Medical Center. There, she hopes to put her knowledge to good use, contributing to better...

A peek inside the kitchen of Mark Kawakami. Mark, assistant professor of Private Law, grew up in Japan and Hawaii. Omotenashi, Japanese hospitality, was drilled into him from an early age, but when it comes to food, he prefers the spicy cuisines of Thailand or Mexico to that of Japan.

In August 2020—the year of the coronavirus—Vivian van Saaze, associate professor at FASoS, moved with her husband and daughter to London for a fellowship at the renowned Tate museum.

Cognitive Neuroscience alum Job van den Hurk works as a data scientist and scientific manager at the MRI centre Scannexus. He is also ‘the prof’ in Brainstorm, a youth television programme on NPO Zapp. His passion: making neuroscience accessible.

Portrait of Bartel Van de Walle who has been director of UNU-MERIT since September 2020

Global Studies—the name of the new Maastricht University (UM) bachelor’s programme sounds perfectly Promethean. Yet the concept makes a lot of sense; indeed, it may well be the most pragmatic approach to preparing students for the 21st century.

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...

One from Italy. One from Romania. Both sharing a house in Maastricht while getting their PhDs. Both earning their degrees with the distinction cum laude. Matteo Bonelli and Daniel On share about their life and research at the Maastricht University Faculty of Law.

Anna Goldberg is currently writing her dissertation on the role of addiction in criminal law from a neuroscientific perspective under the supervision of David Roef, endowed professor of Criminal Law.

A radiation oncologist by training, Philippe Lambin does not limit his research to a single disease. His latest achievement: three European grants for his research on COVID-19.
 

In 2016 Marta Dávila Mateu, now a graduate of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, moved to Maastricht, a city completely unknown to her. Her choice turned out to be a double-edged sword. She found the lack of skate culture depressing, but enjoyed her studies, especially the focus on the...

The outbreak of COVID-19 meant that, as of mid-March, education at UM suddenly had to be offered entirely online. Together with their team, Nicolai Manie, programme manager for online education, and Simon Beausaert, associate professor of Workplace Learning, faced the almost impossible task of...

A peek inside the kitchen of Annemie Schols

Christian Hoebe, professor of Social Medicine and head of Infectious Disease Control at the GGD Zuid-Limburg, discusses his passion for social medicine, his childhood in Alkmaar and, of course, the fight against COVID-19.

The MCICM received funding from the NWO/SIA for research into ways in which symphony orchestras can involve their audiences more actively in concerts. And then the corona crisis hit. Peter Peters, director of the MCICM explains what this means for the research and talks about the insights thus far.

Associate Professor in public health ethics Peter Schröder-Bäck studied the effects of the European debt crisis on health. He is now advising  policymakers across Europe on the ethics of responding to the corona crisis.

Professor Anselm Kamperman Sanders and Dr Anke Moerland, both at the Faculty of Law, received a grant from the EU’s Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme for their project EIPIN Innovation Society, which assesses the role of IP in innovation cycles.

Before she began her PhD, Sanne Schreurs thought “important people” were standoffish. Then she met her supervisor, Professor Mirjam oude Egbrink. “I was surprised at how sweet and supportive she was.” According to the findings of their research, the selection procedure for Medicine predicts study...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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’

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...

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.

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.

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

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...

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...

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...

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.”

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.” 

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...

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

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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

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...

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...

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?

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...

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.