Study abroad at a partner university

The International Relations Office (IRO) of the School of Business and Economics  is responsible for initiating, organizing and coordinating student exchanges primarily at bachelor’s level for those students seeking additional experience abroad. Depending on your study programme at the School of Business and Economics, you go on exchange either in the first or in the second semester of your third year.

Check out our partner universities

Our School has more than 150 exchange contracts with universities and institutions in 45 countries all over the world.
List of partner universities
_{Note that you are not able to go on exchange to a university that is not part of the School's network.}

From the moment you plan your experiment all the way to the endpoint of analysing your results and writing them down, data management should always be at the back of your head. The Findability (F), Interoperability (I) and Reusability (R) aspects of FAIR play a big part here. Important things to consider are:

• Storing data in non-proprietary open file formats (so no obscure file formats or formats that require highly specialized software). (I)
• Using a standard vocabulary, preferably based on official ontology terms, making it much easier to compare different studies with each other. (I)
• Using an electronic zlab) notebook (as opposed to a paper one) with a set of guidelines on how to consistently document experiments (for those who conduct experiments), other types of research data accumulation, and metadata. (F and R)

If you consistently manage your data, sharing those data with other researchers will be a very easy experience for everyone. But how can you best share your data? And when do you normally do this? Sharing data is strongly linked to the Findability (F), Accessibility (A), and Reusability (R) aspects of FAIR. One of the best-known examples of data sharing is placing your data set in a public data repository. This generally means that:

• The data set can be very easily found using metadata and a globally unique persistent identifier, such as a DOI. (F)
• It is clearly described how the data can be accessed (freely or, if required, using authentication/authorisation steps) and the metadata are always freely accessible. (A)
• Data sets receive a flexible Creative Commons usage license by default, allowing other people to use your work without any restrictions. (R)

These three points normally also apply to papers you publish, where articles receive a DOI, access protocols are clear (either Open Access, which is much preferred in Open Science, or via a subscription), metadata is always available (e.g., title, authors, abstract), and the usage license is clearly defined.

A great example of a general-purpose data repository is DataverseNL. Just like your papers, data sets in DataverseNL receive their own DOI and are made available under a flexible Creative Commons usage license. Apart from DataverseNL, many other options are available, including domain-specific repositories. To make your work truly reusable for others, sharing your data is the way to go!

The Dutch code of conduct for academic practice states that research data should remain available for a minimum of 10 years. While you could use a public data repository to store your data for the long-term, you would need a guarantee that the data will stay stored for that 10-year minimum. But more importantly, some data you cannot publicly share, for example because of intellectual property (IP) restrictions or privacy reasons. How can you then adhere to the code of conduct without violating IP or privacy regulations? The answer is simple: DataHub’s Maastricht Data Repository (MDR). MDR is UM’s in-house private data archive where you can safely store all types of data for the long term in a secure environment. Access is restricted to you as the data owner and anyone else you explicitly grant access to. If you ever need to go back to your old data, they will be right there waiting for you!

The Centre of Expertise for Inclusive Organisations (Dutch: Centrum Inclusieve ArbeidsOrganisatie, CIAO) is a Maastricht University based institute that was founded in close collaboration with the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency, UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut WerknemersVerzekeringen).

CIAO offers a platform of knowledge to all parties working professionally towards promoting sustainable participation in the labour market, both for those working and those searching for jobs, and especially those who are not able to participate in the current labour market independently. To further this, CIAO does scientific and practice oriented research. It also develops various practical tools.
Because sustainable participation in the labour market and workplace inclusion pays off, CIAO aims to increase the number of inclusive organisations. For that reason, we want to share our knowledge and expertise with professionals and organisations alike, so that they benefit most optimally from the diversity in talent in the labour market.

Website: www.inclusiveworkredesign.com

Exactly two months ago our team parted ways with 26 unique children, after a very successful first UM Summer Camp week. There we were, still in awe of what we had accomplished together and now realizing it was over.

What started as part of the UM Cares Family Friendly University project, was suddenly realized over the last summer. After all the preparations, brainstorms and logistical planning, we were excited yet nervous on Monday 25 July, when we saw the first WizzKidz arriving at 8.10 hours with their parents at the UM Sports Center. At that moment we realized that our efforts had become a reality. And how!?

Swiftly, the kidz found their KidzCrew leader and started brainstorming on a group name and yell with their group members. Even when decorating their summer camp T-shirts, the group name was creatively incorporated. After the “Automatic” start of the day at different UM locations during the week, the kidz participated in several educational workshops, of which the workshops “What happens when you break the law” and “Tastes Differ” left a lasting imprint. Group activities were also attended with great enthusiasm. The kidz were particularly excited about the “WizzKidz Wizzardz” activity (experiments for kids), launching their homemade rockets after the WizzKidz Explorer Tour and playing detectives in the inner city of Maastricht during the WizzKidz Scavenger Hunt.

Strengthened by inventive and creative KidzCrew members, who escorted the kidz during the week, it became clear how important it is to have a solid team. This also became apparent during the closing ceremony on Friday, where the groups presented the week assignment they had prepared with only few means: We followed team Superfrietjes losing their fries, we fles to Mars and back with team Daton, we learned about making smoothies with a hip vlog from team Superkiwi’s and we tested our knowledge during two quizzes organized by team Smartlanders – a blended composition of pre-adolescents from team Smarties and team Eland. The inventivity and flexibility of the KidzCrew proved its worth again when it was outside playtime and the good old play-tag-with-the-kidz-and-Crew still remained a golden hit. During the week it also became clear for us that kidz are easily entertained and that not everything needs to be planned tightly. This provided some room in our program and we included some extra playtime for the kidz. After all: it was a summer camp, not a school!

Before we knew it, the last day already commenced. We are so proud to see what we have accomplished together to support our UM parents. This UM Summer Camp did not only bring kids together, it also brought parents together whose paths might not have ever crossed.

We are extremely thankful to our fellow UM colleagues and departments, who have contributed to this realization. The second we mentioned it would be an event for kidz, all was possible and people were thinking along enthusiastically to create something special.

A shout out to our KidzCrew students who, each in their own unique manner, handled their responsibilities well beyond our expectations. Every morning, they welcomed their kidz with great enthusiasm and returned them to their parents at the end of the day in the same way, while providing the parents with an update of they day. All KidzCrew members managed to create a fun bond with their kidz. We could not have imagined a better KidzCrew than this one!

And last but not least a big thank you to our Camp Crew D&I student assistants, who were integral during the preparations, the execution and evaluation of the summer camp. Without their efforts, flexibility, relieving humor and inexhaustible energy, this summer camp would not have been the success it has become.

We are looking back on a successful first edition of the UM Summer Camp! It was a considerable project to realize, but knowing now that both parents and kidz awarded it with 9 out of 10 points, it was worth all of our effort…and motivates us for a next edition…stay tuned!