Under a clear blue sky and without any major restrictions, the COVID pandemic suddenly seemed far away. Despite the low attendance, students, staff and the organisers of Maastricht University's six faculties agreed afterwards that this had been another successful open day. As in previous editions, the average rating for the sessions was high: 8.7.

As usual, most visitors came from the Netherlands (60%), followed by Germany, Belgium, Italy and France. More than a third were either UM bachelor's or master's students, and a quarter had a Dutch college (hbo) background.

The exuberant sunshine may be part of the reason why only half of the 1988 registered visitor actually turned up. Normally, that number is about two-thirds.

But those attending Saturday’s event turned out to be very motivated and in some cases visitors found themselves crammed into a room. This was probably also due to the high number of parents or supervisors who had come along.

The programme presentations and information sessions took quite a few questions. And many visitors approached current master's students to learn more about studying and living in Maastricht. UM staff were on hand to share information on admission requirements and application procedures, and to provide career advice.

Feedback

Visitor feedback to the Open Day was generally positive. As many as 286 respondents took the time to fill out a short survey. "Good presentations. They helped to get an overview of the different specialisations. Also talking to the ambassadors cleared a lot of questions!" said a psychology student.

"I really like how the speakers helped us to operationalise their study to what to expect in the real world," added a prospective Governance and Leadership in European Public Health student. A fellow student from the same studies spoke of "clearly a passion for the topic and well explained what can be done with the course. Possibly an example of a tutorial would be nice."

To wrap up this report, let’s give you one of the most positive comments: "Awesome team and great presentation! Can't wait to move here."