On the 25th of May the Campus welcomed all the speakers and participants to the workshop 'Europe in an increasingly challenging world'  organised by The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in cooperation with  Prof. Teun Dekker from University College Maastricht. Keynote speaker Ms Dubravka Suica, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of Democracy and Demography Student,  met and discussed together with Brussels-based experts from the European External Action Service , the European Parliament  and the European Council closing with an exchange on suggestions. 

On the 3rd of May the Campus hosted another group of UM students Brussels.  This time it was our pleasure to welcome students from the Center for European Studies,  Maastricht University. The Campus team invited Ms. Andreina De Leo from the European Policy Centre to give a presentation on ‘Fundamental rights challenges in the field of EU immigration and asylum policy’. The students had a chance to ask questions following the insightful presentation. After the presentation at the Campus they continued to visit the European Parliament and the House of European History .

UM Campus Brussels aims to connect UM students with Europe via study visits in which the team assists in creating an educational programme tailor-made to their specific fields of interest. On the 24th of April Maastricht University School of Business and Economics students visited Maastricht University Campus Brussels. The Campus team arranged for the students to receive a presentation by Román Arjona, Chief Economist at DG GROW European Commission, a Meet & Greet with several SBE alumni, a guided tour at the European Parliament. The busy day was closed off with an afternoon presentation by Tamara Vágner Advisor MEP Rasmus Andresen held at the House of Dutch Provinces in Brussels!

On the 20th of April the FOCI (Future-proof Criteria for Innovative European Education) project held their kick-off launch meeting at the Campus. YUFE, EPICUR and ECIU. FOCI partner will lead a pilot project to shape the future European Degree and pilot and innovative approach with strong support of the European Commission. More on the FOCI project can be found here. 

To close off the RELAY project the Campus organised the RELAY Dissemination Conference: ‘Europa’, (how) have you tackled the challenges you faced? The dissemination conference of the RELAY project examined how the main challenges facing the EU were addressed during the period 2019-2023. The conference brought together academics, policy-makers and civil society. The conference was part of the RELAY project, a Jean Monnet project carried out with the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. RELAY aims at discussing the European Commission’s political priorities with a diverse array of stakeholders and is coordinated by Maastricht University Campus Brussels and includes several academic and non-academic partners.

It was our pleasure to support the  Master's in. Governance & Leadership in European Public Health (GLEPH cohort) from the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences led by Dr Timo Clemens with their Brussels trip on March 22! The cohort visited the European Parliament where they attended an EP Environment  meeting and had a lively debrief with MEP BasEickhout.

The evening of the 16th of March, the Campus had the honor to kick off the 7th edition of the UM Star lectures! Many UM alumni came to learn all about the Einstein Telescope from Prof Stefan Hild. Following the presentation alumni gathered to network over drinks and snacks. 

On March 16 and 17^th the Campus was filled with a new generation of Rule of Law defenders!  The Our Rule of Law (ORoL) Academy is a student-led project co-created by Elene Amiranashvili, Tekla Emborg, Zuzanna Uba and Anna Walczak with the mentorship of Professor John Morijn. The project is initiated first year as LLB-students at the University in Groningen. The students were at the Campus to receive presentations by students on how to strengthen democracy and the Rule Of Law in Europe.

The Campus had the pleasure of hosting the two-day interdisciplinary workshop 'External Financial Governance: Solidarity & Externalisation of Migration Control through EU Funding'. This workshop focuses on incorporating insights from political science, law, public policy, international relations, and political geography, exploring the theoretical and normative underpinnings of governing migration through funding; providing unique empirical insights into the administration modes of EU funding; and assessing the adequacy of oversight and accountability mechanisms, as well as the impact of these practices on the protection of refugee, fundamental rights, and the rule of law. 

The hybrid workshop is co-convened by Dr. Lilian Tsourdi (Assistant Professor/NWO Hestia Principal Investigator) and Nasrat Sayed (Researcher/NWO Hestia Laureate) in the framework of their NWO Hestia grant.

-> More information on the workshop can be found here <-

From the 26th to the 27th of January the Campus hosted the workshop Democratisation, De-democratisation, Re-democratisation: Taking stock of 30 years of Political Change in Eastern Europe. The workshop was organised by Gergana Noutcheva is Associate Professor in International Relations and European Foreign Policy at the Political Science Department of Maastricht University.

On 26th of January the Campus hosted an education development workshop in the framework of the York Maastricht Partnership. The workshop brought colleagues together to develop proposals for new collaborative master programmes on sustainability issues. It also included a session on Problem-Based-Learning (PBL).

On the 25th of January the Campus hosted the book Launch: 'The European Parliament and Delegated Legislation - An Institutional Balance Perspective' written by Merijn Chamon, Assistant Professor of EU Law at Maastricht University and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium. The book explores whether Parliament’s formally reinforced role is reflected in the actual balance of powers in the area of delegated legislation and executive rule-making. Following the book presentation a discussion was led by Gregor Schusterschitz, Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU for the Republic of Austria and Maria José Martinez Iglesias, Director General of the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Security and Safety. This book launch was organised with the support of GLawNet.

Watch the short video and listen to Merijn Chamon introduce his book and explain why he organised it at UM Campus Brussels

On the 23rd of January the Campus hosted the hybrid workshop on Long Term Risks and Future Generations. This workshop brought together social scientists interested in how to integrate the interests of future generations into policymaking processes, laying the foundations for a research agenda on long-term governance at national, European and international level. Supported by the International Center for Future Generations, it will consist of brief presentations of draft papers to be published in the special issue of the European Journal of Risk Regulation (EJRR) followed by input from discussants coming from both academic, public and private practice and questions from the audience.

From the 18th to the 20th of January the Campus hosted the Executive Master in Cultural Leadership course organised Maastricht University and the Royal Academy of Arts. This unique programme is taught in London and Maastricht and aims to foster inspirational leaders who bring a rich understanding of the creative process and innovation to their organisations within the arts, creative industries and beyond.

On the 16-17th of January the Campus had the pleasure of hosting the Jean Monnet VISTA Network annual conference 'The European Single Market in a Geo-Economic World Order' which was co-organised with FASoS colleagues, students & international partners and Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS) with the support of EU Erasmus Plus. 

Watch the short video featuring Dr. Anna Herranz-Surrallés explain more on the VISTA network and why she organised it at UM Campus Brussels.