The chair that Herke now holds, was created to support the new advanced Master of the Maastricht Law Faculty in Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Management, organised by the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity (ECPC). The two-year part-time programme, which started this academic year, offers an ambitious curriculum that combines law, technology, ethics, governance and management of data and has attracted students from all over the world.

In addition to supporting the advanced Master, the chair will be conducting research activities as well. Situated within the Maastricht Centre of European Law (MCEL), Herke’s research concentrates on the development of the fundamental rights to data protection and to privacy in the European Union, the implications of this development for the EU legal order and the interaction of the two rights with other fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of expression.

Besides research activities, the chair also brings EU level experience to the faculty, since Herke combines his professorship with his work for the legal service of the European Commission. In that capacity, he provides internal advice on all legal developments in the area of data protection, including the different legislative proposals concerning the digital market and artificial intelligence. He also represents the European Commission in all cases before the EU Court of Justice concerning data protection. His experience and knowledge allow the UM students to get a well-informed and topical insight fast-paced developments in the area at EU level.