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Science is an indispensable building block for a better future for us and future generations. The University Fund Limburg supports Maastricht University in its efforts to stimulate and promote scientific research and education and serves as a 'bridge' between the university and society.

Support Maastricht University

The Fund is committed to fostering a strong relationship and mutually beneficial connections between the university and its surroundings, including its alumni, the business community, and relevant social organizations.

The University Fund Limburg was established in 1965 with the founding of the Limburg Scientific Education Foundation (SWOL). This foundation started with an initial capital of only 250 guilders. Thanks to SWOL's efforts, the new medical faculty was brought to Maastricht, and in 1974, the first students began their medical studies. This marked the beginning of the development of what is now Maastricht University.

Curious about what the Fund can do for you?

Grant for students

Great initiatives from UM students – the Fund is happy to support them! After all, our mission is to strengthen the relationship between Maastricht University and society while supporting social (research) projects and young talent. Several times a year, students can apply for a grant for their project or event through the Student Activities Support Committee (CooSa).

Grant for UM staff

The Fund provides grants to promote research and education at Maastricht University, encourage international collaboration, and strengthen the university’s connection with its surroundings. UM staff can apply for funding to support their innovative research and events. Three times a year, the Scientific Expenditures Committee (CoBes) reviews the applications.

UM Alumni Community

Did you know that the UM alumni community consists of over 100,000 graduates? Through the University Fund Limburg, more and more alumni are giving back to their alma mater—whether through financial contributions, helping at open days, coaching at the Coach Café, or giving guest lectures. Additionally, alumni enjoy various benefits.

Start a crowdfunding campaign

The Fund offers both staff and students an innovative way to raise money for scientific and social projects: crowdfunding. Through UM Crowd, donors can contribute to a wide range of innovative projects. The goal of UM Crowd is to bring people together around a social theme, helping to advance science in a meaningful way.

Scholarships

In recent years, the Fund has awarded scholarships to more than 45 young students—a valuable step toward a more inclusive and diverse university, where everyone has the opportunity to pursue higher education. Curious about the options for applying for a scholarship from the Fund?

Donate to the Fund

Would you like to make a donation and help advance science and research at UM? Whether big or small, every contribution makes a meaningful difference! Let’s work together to build a better world for tomorrow.

Help advance research and education at UM. Whether big or small, every donation is of great value!

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News University Fund Limburg

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Students going the extra mile

Last July, the French-Turkish first generation student Aylin Güney finished her Bachelor’s in European Law.

Great result for ‘For Each Other 2020’ campaign

Do you remember the fundraising campaign ‘For Each Other’ of the University Fund Limburg/SWOL?

Natural Sciences publications

Aromatic thermotropic polyesters based on 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid and vanillic acid. Polymer, 55(10), 2432-2439. Wilsens, C.H.R.M., Noordover, B.A.J. & Rastogi, S. (2014).

Thermotropic polyesters from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid and vanillic acid : synthesis, thermal properties, melt behavior, and mechanical performance. Macromolecules, 47(10), 3306-3316. Wilsens, C.H.R.M., Verhoeven, J.M.G.A., Noordover, B.A.J., Hansen, M.R., Auhl, D. & Rastogi, S. (2014).

Influence of the 2,5-furandicarboxamide moiety on hydrogen bonding in aliphatic−aromatic poly(ester amide)s. Macromolecules, 2014, 47 (18), pp 6196–6206.Wilsens, C.H.R.M., Desmukh, Y.S., Noordover, B.A.J. & Rastogi, S. (2014).

Vascular endothelial growth factor‐loaded injectable hydrogel enhances plasticity in the injured spinal cord. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A 2014,102, 2345-55. Des Rieux, A; De Berdt P, Ansorena E, Ucakar B, Damien J, Schakman O, Audouard E, Bouzin C, Auhl D, Simón-Yarza T, Feron O, Blanco-Prieto MJ, Carmeliet P, Bailly C, Clotman F, Préat V.

Adsorption of albumin on flax fibers increases endothelial cell adhesion and blood compatibility in vitro. Michel SA, Knetsch ML, Koole LH. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2014;25(7):698-712.

Superior in vivo compatibility of hydrophilic polymer coated prosthetic vascular grafts. Strang AC, Knetsch ML, Idu MM, Bisoendial RJ, Kramer G, Speijer D, Koole LH, Stroes ES, Rotmans JI. J Vasc Access. 2014 Mar-Apr;15(2):95-101

Utilization of flax fibers for biomedical applications. Michel SA, Vogels RR, Bouvy ND, Knetsch ML, van den Akker NM, Gijbels MJ, van der Marel C, Vermeersch J, Molin DG, Koole LH. J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2014 Apr;102(3):477-87.

A nontoxic additive to introduce x-ray contrast into poly(lactic acid). Implications for transient medical implants such as bioresorbable coronary vascular scaffolds.Wang Y, van den Akker NM, Molin DG, Gagliardi M, van der Marel C, Lutz M, Knetsch ML, Koole LH. Adv Healthc Mater. 2014 Feb;3(2):290-9.

Metabolism of β-valine via a CoA-dependent ammonia lyase pathway Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2015), Ahead of Print. Publisher: (Springer, ) CODEN:AMBIDG ISSN:0175-7598

Laccase functionalization of flax and coconut fibers
Polymers (Basel, Switzerland) (2014), 6, (6), 1676-1684, 9 pp. Publisher: (MDPI AG, ) CODEN:POLYCK ISSN:2073-4360

Technology publications

Unique Rheological Response of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylenes in the Presence of Reduced Graphene Oxide; Macromolecules, Article ASAP; DOI: 10.1021/ma501729y. Kangsheng Liu, Sara Ronca, Efren Andablo-Reyes, Giuseppe Forte, Sanjay Rastogi;

Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 11 DEC 2014; DOI: 10.1002/marc.201400514A Hemi-metallocene Chromium Catalyst with Trimethylaluminum-Free Methylaluminoxane for the Synthesis of Disentangled Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene; Dario Romano, Sara Ronca, Sanjay Rastogi.

Inﬂuence of Polymerization Conditions on Melting Kinetics of LowEntangled UHMWPE and Its Implications on Mechanical Properties; Macromolecules 2014; 47 (14), 4750-4760Dario Romano, Niek Tops, Efren Andablo-Reyes, Sara Ronca, Sanjay Rastogi.

13C solid state NMR characterization of structure and orientation development in the narrow and broad molar mass disentangled UHWMPE; Macromolecules 2014; 47 (4), 1371-1382.Y Yao, S. Jiang, S. Rastogi;

Reactive compatibilization of PLA/TPU blends with a diisocyanate , Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2014; 131 (10).SK Dogan, EA Reyes, S Rastogi, G Ozkoc.

Stress-relaxation in disentangled UHMWPE; Journal or Rheology (2014), 1981 EA Andablo‐Reyes, Ele de Boer, D Romano, S Rastogi;

Numerical prediction of nonlinear rheology of branched polymer melts. Journal of Rheology 2014, 56, 823-873. Das, C.; Read, D.J.; Auhl, D.; Kapnistos, M.; den Doelder, J.; Vittorias, V.; McLeish, T.C.B.

Thermotropic Polyesters from 2, 5-Furandicarboxylic Acid and Vanillic Acid: Synthesis. Thermal Properties, Melt Behavior, and Mechanical Performance. Macromolecules 2014, 47, 3306–3316.Wilsens, C.H.R.; Verhoven, J.M.G.; Noordover, B.A.J.; Hansen, M.R.; Auhl, D.; Rastogi, S.

Large amplitude oscillatory shear and Fourier transform rheology analysis of branched polymer melts. Journal of Rheology 2014, 58, 969-997. Hoyle, D.; Auhl, D.; Harlen, O.; Barroso, V., Wilhelm, W.; McLeish, T.

Guidelines for checking performance and verifying accuracy of rotational rheometers: viscosity measurements in steady and oscillatory shear (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry 2014, 86, 1945-1968Laun, M.; Auhl, D.; Brummer, R.; Dijkstra, D.J.; Gabriel, C.; Mangnus, M.A.; Rüllmann, M.; Zoetelief, W.; Handge, U.A.

Influence of the 2, 5-Furandicarboxamide Moiety on Hydrogen Bonding in Aliphatic–Aromatic Poly (ester amide) s. CHRM Wilsens, YS Deshmukh, BAJ Noordover, S Rastogi. Macromolecules 47 (18), 6196-6206.

Recent advances in chemical modifications of graphene. SP Lonkar, YS Deshmukh, AA Abdala Nano Research, 1-36.

If you graduated from the bachelor's programme in Psychology from Maastricht University, you have the opportunity to take part in a two-year double degree master's programme in Work and Organisational Psychology (WOP), which is taught in collaboration with the University of Seville in Spain. You will follow the one-year WOP master’s programme in Seville, followed by the one-year WOP master’s programme in Maastricht. After successful completion of both master’s programmes, you will receive two official master’s degrees in Work and Organisational Psychology, one from Seville and one from Maastricht.

Programme outline, year 1 in Seville

Courses	ECTS (60)
Social and Community Interventions	6 - first semester
Psychology of Communication and Culture	6 - first semester
Managerial Skills	6 - first semester
Negotiation and Mediation	6 - first semester
Educational Psychology	6 - second semester
Intervention in Human Resources Psychology	6 - second semester
Placement	12 - second semester
Methodology for Intervention and Social Evaluation	6 - second semester
Decission making: Economic behaviour	6 - second semester

Programme outline, year 2 in Maastricht

Courses	ECTS (60)
Work Psychology	5 - first semester
Human Resources	5 - first semester
Practical Training: Occupational Health Audit	0 - first semester
Practical Training: What is it like to be a Work and Organisational Psychologist?	0 - first semester
Organisation and Cognition	5 - first semester
Human Performance	5 - first semester
Practical Training: Surveys on Organisations	0 - first semester
Practical Training: Conflict Management	0 - first semester
Practical Training: Data Analyses	0 - first semester
Professional Skills Training	10 - year
Research Internship	17 - year
Research Methods for Work and Organisational Psychologists	0 - year
Research Proposal	5 - year
Master's Thesis	8 - year

Admission requirements and eligibility

Third-year students of the bachelor's programme in Psychology at Maastricht University are eligible to apply for the double degree programme with the University of Seville. The admission requirements for the two-year double degree master’s programme are in accordance with the admission requirements for Maastricht University's master’s programme in Work and Organisational Psychology. Before starting the double degree master’s programme, admitted students must successfully complete the bachelor's programme in Psychology at Maastricht University (180 ECTS).

Selection procedure

The selection procedure for the double degree programme is organised by the International Relations Office of Maastricht University's Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience and takes place in the third year of the bachelor's programme. Three spots are available for this programme each year. Students will be selected based on their academic background (results during the bachelor’s programme), motivation and Spanish language proficiency (minimum level B1 according to CEFR).

Finances

You'll remain registered and pay tuition fees to Maastricht University throughout the entire double degree programme. If you meet the requirements, you can apply for Erasmus+ funding for your stay in Seville.

More information?

Check the IRO page (log in required)

You can also contact the IRO through Ask Psychology.

We expect our students to have a strong curiosity, ready to explore the world of science. Learn from doing and get your essential hands-on experience in our modern and fully equipped laboratories at the Chemelot Campus, one of the most innovative chemical and materials communities in Europe. We offer you an inspirational environment for your research, practicals and projects, enabling you to experience science at its best.

You will find it more rewarding to seek your own answers than to search for what others previously published. Here are some examples from previous student-projects:

Electromagnetism in action: the physics behind metal detection

Metal detectors are everywhere, from airports and concert venues to freshly ploughed fields where adventurous treasure hunters feel lucky. Not that many people are aware that you can actually make a detector in the lab, applying the principles of electromagnetism combined with a relatively simple electrical circuit. But what goes on in such a device while looking for metal

Students were challenged to construct a metal detector from scratch and evaluate its efficiency through extensive testing with various materials, depths and metals. From the start, it became clear that the project was not just about researching electromagnetic principles, but substantial knowledge on electronics was equally essential to build a working detector.

The project group successfully constructed two working types: a beat frequency oscillation detector and a pulse induction detector, testing both devices on sensitivity on metals and different objects.

"This was a cool, hands-on project that went far beyond simple experimenting with electromagnetic phenomena, demanding a lot more from us on building electronic circuits and figuring out how they work."

Emma den Brok

The predatory behaviour of horse leeches

Leeches are probably best known as extras in dubious horror movies, displayed as bloodsucking parasites. That is not exactly a fair picture, in fact, many leeches do not feed on blood at all and are harmless to humans. One of those innocent leeches is the horse leech, which feeds solely on aquatic invertebrates and possibly dead animals.

The goal of this project was to determine in carefully controlled experiments, what horse leeches (Haemopis sanguisuga) prefer to eat under what conditions. Students successfully experimented with potential prey from the same habitat as horse leeches and were able to identify clear feeding preferences and behaviour.

"Besides learning how to set up research, the project was a great experience to get familiar with aspects of science that you don’t learn in lectures, like project management and balancing the individual strengths of the group members."

Alex Hooft

Smart bite: an innovative way of combating teeth grinding

Bruxism is the medical term for clenching the jaws and grinding the teeth. It is quite a common phenomenon as one in ten people suffer from it. Bruxism is believed to be an unconscious response to stress, causing teeth damage and excessive strain to jaw muscles. This could lead to many complications including migraine, sore muscles and earaches. Most cases of bruxism occur subconsciously during sleep, but it can also happen while people are awake, the so-called wake bruxism.

To combat wake bruxism, students designed a sensitive polymer prototype that can be implemented in a dental splint. This smart bite device captures any bruxism occurrence and signals the patient’s smartphone through a Bluetooth connection, triggering the patient to stop further teeth grinding.

For this project, students collaborated with the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+) and medical engineers of Instrument Development Engineering & Evaluation (IDEE), the technological enabler that facilitates the MUMC+ in its core tasks of research, education and healthcare provision.

"What was really interesting in this project was to experience what a scientific career could be like."

Onno Akkermans

Allometry of conduction velocity of giant fibers in earthworms

Your brain registers pain in milliseconds when you hurt your foot. Neurons carry these signals through the body at high speed, the so-called conduction velocity. How fast these particular signals travel depends on several factors, like size or weight.

This project investigated the impact of body weight, length and anesthetics on the conduction velocity of two giant fibers within earthworms. They have been used in a classroom setting to teach about conduction velocity for decades because earthworms have several large neurons that run along the entire length of their body, the medial giant fiber (MGF) and two lateral giant fibers (LGF).

Students tested the earthworm species Lumbricus terrestris, which were anesthetized with either ethanol or carbonated water. Using a spiker box for signal velocity measurement, they not only found out that the conduction velocity increases when the body of the worm gains weight and length, but also that length is significantly correlated with conduction velocity.

"Putting all the pieces together to understand what the results indicate was both challenging and fun."

Anna-Maria Pistikou

The synthesis and use of metal-salen complexes for selective oxidation of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into diformylfuran (DFF)

Biobased polymers could be a renewable and sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics, catering for a variety of applications in packaging, construction and consumer goods. The goal of this lab-based project was to develop catalytic oxidation chemistry for scalable synthesis of target biobased monomers as building blocks for these bio-based polymers.

Students synthesized metal-salen complexes as catalyst for oxidizing hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a dehydration product of fruit sugar fructose into diformylfuran (DFF), a constituent of bio-based polymers. Previously, such an oxidation procedure incorporated expensive and environmentally unfriendly chemicals.

Through organic and organometallic chemistry, students successfully synthesized two catalysts and improved the oxidation procedure of bioderived compounds. A challenging, interdisciplinary project aimed at developing student skills in synthetic organic / inorganic chemistry, spectroscopy and polymer chemistry.

"This project was all about higher level chemistry, enabling us to put our organic and inorganic chemistry lessons into practice"

Joost Venner

Bat Hunting

Students in the class Field Skills in Biology went on a nocturnal excursion focused on bats in the town parks of Maastricht. Their guide was Ilja Zeilstra, an ecological consultant with the engineering company Witteveen+Bos. As Ilja explained: “bats are protected by both European and Dutch law, therefore when anything is built or demolished we have to ensure that the bats are protected from these effects”. The students used bat detectors, which make the high pitched tweets of bats audible to human hearing, to identify bat species and link their occurrence to the habitat and insects present.

In June some students who have done the class will be taking part in a field research project with Ilja on bat conservation issues for the Province of Limburg.

"I like the idea of applying knowledge from my courses at the MSC to a real life situation."

Alex Hooft

‘Small scale’ and ‘personal’ may not be terms you would immediately associate with a university. But it is around these concepts that Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Research-Based Learning (RBL) revolve. The methods of instruction employed by Maastricht Science Programme promote active learning to build knowledge and develop academic skills as well as an academic and professional attitude.

We offer you a challenging learning environment with small and interactive group sessions as distinctive characteristic. In both your studies and your future career you will need more than a load of information, you need to be able to transfer and apply your knowledge. Through Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Research-Based Learning (RBL) you are encouraged to explore the material yourself and to apply your knowledge to real and hypothetical cases.

Research-Based Learning

At Maastricht Science Programme, we take you even further than Problem-Based Learning. The innovative teaching method employed is Research-Based Learning (RBL). At Maastricht Science Programme sections of several courses and skills as well as most of the projects are based on RBL. In RBL you will work on contemporary research topics as part of your education. During courses and skills, you will study research problems of which the answer is not yet known. During the projects and the Bachelor Thesis Research you conduct your own research in close cooperation with scientist and researchers. You will learn to apply your knowledge and to create your own discoveries, rather than simply learning about existing theories.

Academic Advising at UCM is aimed at allowing students to define and achieve their individual academic goals. At UCM, each student is assigned an academic advisor immediately upon enrolment. This advisor will either be a staff member of UCM or one of the faculties of Maastricht University. Students and advisors are matched on the basis of the student’s academic interest and the advisor’s expertise.

The freedom to choose courses and thus design one’s own, individual academic profile is essential to a Liberal Arts and Sciences program. However, as the process of course selection and proper preparation for the transition to a Master’s program is complicated, students may take more advantage of that freedom if some assistance is available to them. This is where the academic advisor comes in.

The role of an academic advisor is to help the student make decisions regarding the content and planning of his or her individual curriculum. Primarily academic advisors provide their advisees with feedback and incentives to actively take responsibility for how they organize their studies, and to formulate concrete answers to questions such as:

What do I find interesting?
How do I combine my various interests into a meaningful curriculum?
How do I evaluate my own academic progress?
What kind of Master’s program would I like to pursue upon graduation?
What are my strengths, and where do I recognize the need and possibilities for improvement?

Each academic advisor will have a limited number of students as advisees. This ensures that every advisor really gets to know their advisees – their interests and plans, their strengths and challenges. While at UCM the decisions will always be yours, you will not have to be on your own when you make them.

To support students in developing essential academic skills, we offer a course catalogue containing around 150 courses, skills trainings and projects. These form the foundation of a solid academic or professional career.

Concentration
The concentration is a central part of the curriculum, which allows students to gain in-depth knowledge in their fields of interest. UCM offers a choice of three concentrations: Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences. Students may focus on a particular discipline (e.g. psychology, economics, history or biology) or instead opt for courses around a combination of themes or disciplines. For instance, a curriculum could include economics, law and international relations, or sciences and psychology, or cultural studies and history. Through the concentration, students gather specialised knowledge that enables them, upon graduation, to enrol in a master’s programme of their choice or to start a professional career.

The academic core and general education
In addition to the courses in the concentration, every student needs to complete the ‘academic core’. It consists of four courses that give the fundamental knowledge any academic should have. These courses are about the principles of scientific research, the major political issues of our time, historical developments in the world over the last 70 years, and why abstract concepts and models are vital in science.

Moreover, in order to get a broad perspective students choose four courses outside of their concentration. This ensures that students are able to think from different perspectives and understand how people in other academic areas think and work.

Skills trainings
UCM places considerable emphasis on developing academic skills, which are essential to any successful career. Many of UCM’s Skills trainings focus on research methodology and design. All students must complete the Research Methods Skills Trainings and a Project during their first year. These modules focus on the general principles of doing research and on different research traditions. This leads up to a four week project, in which small groups of students carry out a study of their own design.

In their second year, students can choose to take more advanced Skills trainings and Courses that explore different research techniques in greater depth, including for instance Statistics, Qualitative and Quantitative Methods, Ethnographic Interviewing, Laboratory Skills and Legal Research.

Projects
Research is central to UCM’s Projects. During these Projects, students work fulltime on applying the research skills they have acquired in Skills Trainings and the knowledge they have gathered in courses to produce an extensive piece of academic work, such as a Journal Article, Position Paper, Research Report or a Policy Analysis.

We offer selected students the opportunity of undertaking a six-month Undergraduate Research Project, under the supervision of an active researcher at Maastricht University. This project allows students to conduct independent research in the context of a professional research group, and provides those who are interested in research careers with valuable experience.

Capstone
All UCM students complete their studies by writing a Capstone, a bachelor's thesis. Under the guidance of a faculty member of Maastricht University, they produce a substantial piece of scholarship. This could be a research project, literature review, experimental study, analytical paper, philosophical treatise, or some other form of research. The Capstone enables students to express their individual academic profile and to demonstrate the academic level they have reached during their time at UCM.

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